We’ve written about Questbridge before, and still recommend it as an application option for students who meet its eligibility requirements. The scholarships it offers are quite valuable, and grant a pathway to college most students would benefit greatly from.
Our last article sought to provide a general overview of the Questbridge app, but this one will instead focus on the essays. Questbridge asks applicants to answer two types of essays; long and short answers. We’ll go over the prompts, what they’re asking, and how you can go about answering them. Let’s get started!
Questbridge’s Main Essay
This is named the Personal Essay, and is in many ways quite similar to the personal statement asked for by the Common App. Here is the prompt:
- We are interested in learning more about the context in which you have grown up, formed your aspirations, and accomplished your successes. Please describe how the most influential factors and challenges in your life have shaped you into the person you are today. (800 words)
This is a very broad prompt, which is both good and bad. Good, because you can write about almost anything. Bad, because you can write about almost anything. This can be a headache when trying to pick a topic. We recommend our article on brainstorming if you want advice on that.
Generally, however, this essay should be about a self-definitive topic. You want to tell readers something about how you define yourself, and how some event or impact has affected the person you are. This is true for the Common App’s personal statement as well, and any essay you write for Questbridge can be edited to serve as a personal statement.
Here’s an example of what I mean by self-definitional. I wrote my own personal statement on my time spent dancing. This was an activity I devoted long hours to, but more than that, it was part of how I defined myself. I was a dancer; dance was more than what I did, it was who I was.
This essay does not need to be about one of your activities, but should center in some way on who you are, and what has made you you. We realize that this can be a tall order; check out some of our guides to the personal statement for more advice on how to approach an essay like this.
Questbridge’s Second Essay
Questbridge asks for a second long essay. There are four potential prompts for this, and it has a 500 word limit. Here are the prompts:
- Tell us about a concept, theory, or topic you have explored simply because it sparked your intellectual curiosity. Why do you find it intriguing? How do you want to explore it further?
- Describe an experience that caused you to change your perspective and/or opinion.
- What aspect of your current community do you admire and wish to bring to your future college community?
- Inclusivity involves embracing diversity and working to include people with backgrounds and experiences different from your own. Describe an experience where you have played a role in fostering inclusivity.
There are two things you should consider when choosing which prompt you should answer for this. The first is which stories do you have that will be most impactful, and the second is how best you can complement the story you told in your personal essay.
Of course, you want to tell whichever story best shows off who you are, and what you will bring to a college. The first prompt allows you to show off your intellectual vitality, the second your willingness to learn from others, and the third and fourth how you will integrate with and contribute to a diverse and vibrant college community. Which of these you have the best story for depends on your own circumstances and experiences.
Most students, however, will have options for each of these prompts. You are all excited about learning, contribute to your community, and have interesting and unique points of view. What you should then consider is this essay in context. How does the information you include in this essay add to what you showed admissions officers in your personal essay?
Questbridge, like colleges, judges applications holistically, trying to create a full picture of who you are. This second long essay is a chance to show them (and admissions officers) a second facet of your character. You should avoid repeating any information you included in your personal essay in this one.
Questbridge’s Short Answer Essays
In addition to the two longer essay questions, Questbridge asks a number of short answer questions, ranging from 35 to 200 words in length. This is far more essays, as an application, than the Common App or Coalition App. In turn, however, many of the colleges you can apply to through Questbridge require fewer supplemental essays, since the application itself supplies so much information about you.
Questbridge also only allows you to input five activities, in contrast to the ten allowed by the Common App. These additional essay questions are intended to let you delve more in depth into what you do outside of the classroom, and can be a big help for students who participated in more than five activities in high school.
We’ll go through each question, and cover what it’s asking, and how to answer it.
Tell us about one of your proudest achievements or moments and what it says about you. (200 words)
This question is open ended and straightforward. What accomplishments you care about most says something about you; what you value, and what you have worked towards. This can be either an extracurricular accomplishment, or something you achieved in your school work. What’s important is not just what you did, but why it matters to you.
In your response, cover both the accomplishment in detail, scope and scale and the effort you put in, and why this accomplishment was important to you. You want to show readers your values, and what you care about celebrating success in.
If you could meet a character from a book or a historical figure, who would it be and what would you ask them? (200 words)
This is again a chance to show off your values and personality. We recommend answering this question completely honestly. Don’t try to craft an answer based on what you think admissions officers want to hear, instead write an answer that shows off the best parts of you, and where your interests lie.
We do recommend looking for less common answers, or responses that readers have not seen hundreds of times before. American presidents, protagonists of popular novels, and the most famous historical figures are often brought up for topics like this. If you do want to meet with George Washington or Julius Caesar, then that’s perfectly fine, but you should have something unique and interesting to say about why.
Very Short Answer Questions
All of the following questions are to be answered in 35 words:
- What is your favorite subject to study, and why?
- What are your favorite books and/or movies?
- What is your favorite source of inspiration?
- How do you spend a typical weekend?
- What compliment are you most proud of receiving and who gave it to you?
- After a challenging experience, how do you rejuvenate?
- What would you contribute to your future college campus community?
You may answer these in either sentences or lists as you find appropriate. We recommend answering the question about favorite books or movies as a list; it parallels Columbia’s list essays. You likely won’t be able to list every book or movie you enjoy, so try to curate a list that shows off your range of interests.
You should attempt to answer the rest of these questions earnestly and honestly. You do still want to show yourself in a positive light, but this is a good chance to show admissions officers little interesting glimpses of your life and personality. One student we worked with unwinds after a long and challenging experience with a nap; there’s nothing wrong with this, and answering in this way shows an aspect of their character, and how they handle the responsibilities they have assumed.
For each question, spend one sentence answering it directly, and another providing context or details which expand upon your answer. It is not enough to merely say what your favorite source of inspiration is; give some reasons why and how it inspires you. Questbridge is giving you a wonderful opportunity to introduce yourself to admissions officers, and you should do your best to take advantage of it.
The final question, about how you will contribute, is the most difficult to answer briefly. Many colleges ask questions like this as a full supplemental essay, which we refer to as the community essay. For this, we recommend focusing on one or two tangible ways you will contribute to a campus community, and exploring each in a sentence. Maybe you’ll bond with your roommates over home cooked meals, or participate in student government, or volunteer your time, or add your talents to artistic endeavors, or bring the school athletic glory; there are many ways to contribute. You need to explore what you bring to the table.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the essay questions asked by Questbridge give you a lot of room to explore what matters to you, and where your interests lie. This is intentional, as is the open endedness of the questions. Questbridge is meant to provide students who may not have as many resources at their disposal a clear path to college, and part of this is eliciting the kind of information admissions officers want to know.
Admissions officers want to know who you are, what you care about, and how you’ve spent your time. They want to know what challenges you’ve faced, and how your obligations may have impacted your academic journey. The essay questions are meant to explore who you are as a person and student, because that’s what admissions officers want to see.
Of course, writing college essays, even ones which strive to be straightforward, is quite difficult. Defining yourself, and exploring your interests is not an easy task for many students. If you are looking for guidance answering Questbridge’s essay questions, or have other concerns about the application process, consider applying to our Laurel Scholars program. We’ve helped many students realize their collegiate dreams, and are always happy to hear from you.
