QuestBridge Simplified

 "QuestBridge is a non-profit program that links students with educational and scholarship opportunities at some U.S. colleges and universities. QuestBridge provides a College Prep Scholarship for high school juniors and a National College Match program for high school seniors."

—QuestBridge

QuestBridge has two tracks, College Prep Scholars (for high school juniors) and the National College Match (for high school seniors). Both programs must be separately applied to, and only what are deemed as "high-achieving, low-income" students will be chosen. The income ceiling is usually $65,000 annually for a family of four with typical assets. The organization has 40 college partners which are all competitive schools with good financial aid policies. See all 40 college partners here.

What is "College Prep Scholars" and who should apply?

College Prep Scholars (CPS) is purportedly easier to be accepted into (with a roughly 30% acceptance rate), and applicants must apply before mid-March of their junior year in high school. Accepted students are then named CPS and receive opportunities and support including...

• A conference at a local college partner giving college-application advice, introducing the National College Match, and helping College Prep Scholars get to know one another and the college partners
• The opportunity to apply for scholarships (for example, funds to buy a laptop)
• Connections with previous QuestBridge scholars who can provide guidance and advice for the college application process, especially the QuestBridge National College Match path

What is the "National College Match" and who should apply?

This is different from becoming a QuestBridge finalist (which is applied for at the beginning of senior year), but only finalists may participate in the National College Match. Criteria to become a finalist is similar to CPS, but it is more challenging to be accepted.

The National College Match is a special type of early application that allows participating finalists to apply early (and rank) up to twelve of QuestBridge’s forty college partners. All colleges are binding except for four: Stanford, Princeton, Yale, and MIT.

If you are matched to a school, you will find out in early December (earlier than most ED/EA decision releases), and you will receive what that specific college deems a full ride. Note that what is considered as a “full ride” is not necessarily an entirely free education; financial aid awards may include federal work-study requirements, loans (purportedly only at USC), and a student summer contribution.

Any schools you aren't matched to may forward your application to regular decision (RD). If you don't plan on applying to other schools, email them so that they don't consider you for RD.

Note that the QuestBridge National College Match system is only helpful to a select group of people.

The system will benefit you if have an Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) of 0 or roughly 0. Most colleges will not accept you for the match (accept and award you a full-ride) unless your EFC is 0. A few colleges calculate EFC differently that other institutions, however, so be sure to ask around the QuestBridge community before applying through the match. If your EFC is above the hazy limit, you would have a greater chance of being accepted applying through ED/EA outside of QuestBridge. You are likely to still receive substantial financial aid since all QuestBridge partners have good financial aid policies. (This applies to regular decision as well; if you do not match to any school, do not fear! If you are accepted, you still have a chance at an affordable college education. Some people are even awarded full rides.)

All but four of the QuestBridge college partners are binding (as of 2019, and if you apply through the match). Only rank them if you are sure you would like to go there. This means that you must research all the schools ahead of time and form an idea of what kind of college you’d like to attend. Be timely! Start learning about schools in the summer. If you’re like me and didn’t research that much ahead of time but still want to participate in the match, applying to the four non-binding schools is something to consider. Do not blindly rank colleges. Also, applying to too many schools may actually hurt your chances since you will be rushing to complete all the supplements, decreasing the amount of time you can spend with each one. Remember, quality over quantity!

Good luck to those who are applying to QuestBridge programs and colleges!

I am a College Prep Scholar and QuestBridge Finalist who ranked the four non-binding schools in the National College Match. In early December, 2018, I was matched to Yale University. Having never visited the school, I forwarded my early applications for options (to be cautious) and was accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.