Talk:QuestBridge

Dated/primary materials that need a rewrite

This material is potentially useful. However, it is dated and lacks secondary sources. If someone is willing to re-write it with updated secondary sources, it could be restored back to the article.-Classicfilms (talk) 04:06, 19 October 2021 (UTC)

History

QuestBridge started in 1987 as the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SMYSP). It evolved into the QuestBridge Program in 2004 after founder Michael McCullough began using the Internet to recruit students. Amherst College, Rice University, Grinnell College, Wheaton College, and Trinity College joined as the first QuestBridge partner schools. By 2016, the pool of partner schools had increased to 42 universities and liberal arts colleges. Since 2014, more than 7,500 students have been admitted and offered financial aid to these partner schools.

College Prep Scholarship

The College Prep Scholarship is a pre-college scholarship program offered by QuestBridge for qualifying high school juniors. The application is a condensed version of the National College Match application, and also asks students to list their interest in each of the partner schools. In 2012, 3,098 students were named College Prep Scholars for winning one or more of the above awards. 74% of these students were among the first generation in their family to attend college, and 85% ranked in the top 10% of their class.

National College Match

The National College Match is an alternative, generally binding, and free application process for high-school seniors. It helps students apply to and be selected for admission at partner colleges with full four-year scholarships.Students may also use the program's application materials to apply for admission through partner colleges' regular decision processes.

Process

The National College Match application generally opens up in August. Students fill out the QuestBridge application, which is a counterpart to the Common Application and includes several 35-word short-answer questions and two full-length essays. The application is catered towards highlighting the specific needs and backgrounds of low-income, first-generation students. The application is due late September.

Students can rank their school preferences, up to 12 colleges, if they want to continue with the National College Match process. Each partner school asks for different materials, such as the Common Application, particular financial aid documents, or college supplements. QuestBridge Finalists are announced and students find out if they are eligible for the National College Match process.

Through the month of November, each partner college receives applications from QuestBridge finalists who ranked them for the National College Match. The partner schools choose among their applicants and send a list of desired students to QuestBridge, who then matches the colleges' rankings with the students' rankings. Students are matched to the top school on their list that also matched them. Around late November to early December, QuestBridge announces whether or not the students receive a College Match Scholarship, which covers at the minimum the full cost of tuition, room, and board, and student fees. If the student receives a College Match Scholarship to a binding school, they are prohibited from applying to any other college.

Students who do not receive the College Match Scholarship move onto QuestBridge Regular Decision, the Early Decision II, or Early Action offered at various schools.

Students who were not named QuestBridge Finalists can still receive free applications from a variety of partner colleges, and they are eligible to forward their National Match Application to schools that will accept it for QuestBridge Regular Decision.

The National College Match is a restrictive early process; students may not apply to any other early decision or action program until Match results come out. As a result, students can choose to not rank any schools at all. They can still be named QuestBridge Finalists, which means eligibility for Questbridge Regular Decision, and they can apply to any early process they desire.

While international students and undocumented students may apply to the National Match, they are not considered by every partner college.