QuestBridge, a national nonprofit organization that connects low-income youth with dozens of leading colleges and universities, announced that 2,242 students have been accepted to a college of their choice and will receive a four-year QuestBridge Match Scholarship in this year’s early admissions cycle.
The 2,242 students are the largest number of scholarship recipients in QuestBridge’s history. Compared to last year’s 1,755 early admission qualifiers, the previous record, that’s a 28% increase.
“We are thrilled to welcome this historic number of QuestBridge students,” Anna Rowena Mallari, co-founder and CEO of QuestBridge, said in the press release. “These scholars will bring a depth of thought and a range of experience to our partner universities that will certainly enrich their new communities
QuestBridge was launched in 2004 by Michael McCullough and Anna Rowena Mallary, after an initial run as a five-week residential summer enrichment program for high school students on the campus of Stanford University. With the help of private funding, the program has grown into one of the nation’s leading programs to help outstanding students from low-income backgrounds gain admission to highly selective colleges and receive full, four-year scholarships from those institutions.
Early admissions have been criticized for discriminating against low-income students and creating a privileged boycott that favors white and wealthy applicants. QuestBridge is now one of the country’s most visible efforts to mitigate some of the bias associated with early admission.
How it works
QuestBridge partners with 50 of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities to identify and support high-achieving, low-income students through a unique process called the National College Match Application.
As part of QuestBridge’s free application process, students complete a single application in which they rank up to 15 partner institutions on their preferences for attendance. The information of those students who are then selected as finalists is sent to all ranked QuestBridge colleges.
A “match” occurs when a ranked college offers a student admission and a guaranteed four-year scholarship. A student “matches” with only one school – the school highest on their list that also wants to match with them.
Match Scholarships cover the full cost of attendance, including tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplies, and travel expenses. Similar to other early admissions processes, most colleges participating in QuestBridge require matched students to accept their offer as binding.
Finalists who do not gain admission through the match process may still be considered eligible for Early Action or Early Decision admission, or may be admitted later during the regular cycle.
This year’s results
From 20,800 applicants, QuestBridge selected 6,683 finalists, of whom 2,242 Match Scholar recipients were selected. This year’s scholarship recipients come from 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
They had an unweighted GPA of 3.94; 93% were among the top 10% of their graduating class. About 92% of them came from families with an annual income of less than $65,000, and 87% qualified for free or reduced-price school meals. The vast majority – 82% – represent the first generation in their families to attend a four-year college in the United States.
QuestBridge’s college partners include top liberal arts colleges such as Amherst, Pomona, Holy Cross, Colby, Grinnell, and Carleton, and major research universities such as Duke, Princeton, Caltech, Stanford, Columbia, University of Chicago, University of Virginia, Northwestern, Rice, and Yale.
When announcing early admissions results, many colleges highlighted the number of QuestBridge admissions.
Since its founding, QuestBridge National College Match has connected more than 14,500 students with full scholarships at college partners.
Finalists who enroll in a QuestBridge College become part of the QuestBridge Scholars Network, which provides ongoing support and resources through national opportunities and campus communities. QuestBridge also provides the opportunity for its graduates to apply for full scholarships to top business schools through the Graduate School Match: MBA program. The QuestBridge Scholars Network and Alumni Association now includes more than 25,000 current college students and alumni worldwide.
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In recent years, colleges and universities have made a concerted effort to increase access to higher education for low-income students. One organization that has played a crucial role in this effort is QuestBridge, which has helped facilitate the acceptance of a record number of low-income students into prestigious institutions of higher learning. Through its innovative matching process, QuestBridge has connected talented low-income students with top colleges and universities, providing them with the opportunity to pursue their academic and professional goals. As a result, these institutions have seen a significant increase in the diversity and inclusivity of their student bodies, ultimately contributing to a more equitable and representative higher education landscape. This trend marks a promising shift towards a more inclusive and accessible higher education system, and underscores the importance of initiatives like QuestBridge in creating opportunities for all students, regardless of their socioeconomic background.