#study-struck

004| Scholarships-The Questbridge National College Match

hi everyone! still working on starting to study bio but i was looking at @adelinestudiess​ and i lovveeee the way she takes biology notes. please go give her tumblr a follow, she’s great.

i’ll be going to the gym for jiu jitsu (i might make a post on my workout schedule since that is something that will be going into full effect soon!) in a couple hours but i wanted to talk about something near and dear to my heart.

the questbridge scholarship.

so, i am a rising second year at the university of chicago, but i was admitted as a questbridge scholar, a scholarship aimed at helping low-income, high achieving students get into the most selective colleges in the nation with a full scholarship. i will be traveling to california soon for training because i will be the president/liaison of uchicago’s questbridge chapter this upcoming academic year. questbridge means the world to me and i am really excited to further my involvement on campus.

the impact questbridge has had on my life is so important and i wanted to go ahead and share with you the senior year scholarship opportunity that they offer. eventually, i will talk about the junior year scholarship questbridge offers (since that really brought me into understanding questbridge and applying for the senior year scholarship) 

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for those who may not be familiar with Questbridge, it is a non-profit scholarship organization created to help low income kids to attend highly selective colleges/universities. i was accepted to the University of Chicago as a Questbridge Student and received a full-academic scholarship. It is such a great scholarship but there are so many people who have not heard of this scholarship. scholarships like Gates, Posse, Chick Evans, Jack Kent Cooke, etc, are very known and I absolutely recommend that you guys go and apply for these scholarships on top of Questbridge or any other scholarship program that you prefer. However, of course as a Questbridge Scholar I would love for you guys to apply.  But of course, I have to be able to convince you or at least show the benefits to applying.

Purpose of Questbridge:

            As stated, the purpose of Questbridge is to provide an opportunity to low-income students, regardless of race, origin, religion or sexuality, a chance to attend one of 40 partner colleges/universities in the United States. These colleges are the highly selective colleges/universities, ivy league schools and high selective liberal arts colleges. Most of these colleges are private institutions, though some like UVA are public. Regardless, these 40 partner schools, the newest being Hamilton College in New York and Washington University in St. Louis, are committed to provide aid to high achieving low-income students.

What Does a Questbridge Student Look Like:

            So, regardless of what someone will tell you, there is no such thing as a “ideal student” because every student individual in their own way. It is more so about what you can contribute to the college community. However, there are some key things that Questbridge, like a college admission officer, looks at. Ultimately, we are looking for students who show high academic achievement. So how does Questbridge Define this. The follow graphic comes from the Questbridge website, a link that I will cite at the end of this article for you guys to look at. Now, the information provided below is mainly looking at the “profiles of past Finalists” and are “NOT” and this essential “NOT STRICT CUT-OFFS” (Questbridge). This is to remind you that you are more than a test score because I promise. Before I retook my ACT, I did not have this ACT they were looking for and a lot of students don’t. It is all about you showing who you are in your grades, your letter of rec, essays and extracurricular. A number does not provide all about a student.

Academic  Criteria

Grades and rigor of high school curriculum

Primarily A’s in the most challenging courses  available (usually including Honors, AP, and/or IB level courses.)

Class rank

Top 5-10% of your graduating class.

Standardized test scores

SAT or PSAT scores > 1310 ACT composite score > 28

We also recommend submitting any AP, IB, or SAT  Subject Test scores.  Review the standardized  testing requirements for each college.

Additional Criteria

We also look for evidence of strong writing  ability, intellectual spark, and determination through essays and  teacher/counselor recommendations.

(Questbridge)

There are also financial qualifications as well and these are slightly stricter, but there is a sense of leniency. I don’t want to paraphrase because I don’t want to say anything wrong, so this time, I will mainly just ask you guys to look at the page because it gives more details about it. But just a summary, Questbridge students mainly come from an income below $65000 from a family of 4.

For more information on the Financial Qualifications of Questbridge, check out this link: https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match/who-should-apply.

What the Application Looks Like:

            I think the biggest difference between the Questbridge Application and other scholarship applications is that this essentially a college application. You have essays, letters of recs, filling out everything about your school and yourself, short answer question, and personal circumstances. The biggest difference is that you are putting all your financial information in this application. The reason why I want to emphasize that this is a college application is because some of the Questbridge Schools only want to Questbridge App. So, what do I mean by this? If you become a finalist for NCM, you continue applying to the schools that you rank for match and submit additional documents, financial information and your common application for those schools with their supplemental prompts (this is why completing NCM early and researching the schools early is important-I will make a separate post on this part of NCM specifically because I find it really important to take note off). However, for certain schools such as Yale, your Questbridge application essential becomes your application for the school. You will not need to complete any of their supplemental short answers and short essays that they require in their common application. So, taking a lot of time with your application and putting in your best work is extremely essential.  

Application Deadlines:

            Wouldn’t there be one application deadline to a scholarship? So with Questbridge, there are multiple components especially if you become a Questbridge Finalist for the Scholarship. So, here are the dates that Questbridge have provided for the scholarship.

September 27-National College Match Application Due

October 11-College Match Rankings and Match Agreement Form Due

October 18-Finalist Notification

November 1-College Match Requirements due to ranked college partners

November 5-Questbridge Regular Decision Form Opens

December 3- Match Notification

December 10-Questbridge Regular Decision Form Due

For more information on what these terms mean, check out Questbridge.org for more information

Why You Should Apply:

So, I can tell you to apply because you can get a full ride to some of the best universities in the nation, nevertheless the world, and not have to worry about paying for college. But that is not the only reason why I want you to apply. Apart from receiving a full ride scholarship, I have gotten to know and meet the most important people of my life. I felt like I had a group of people that I can rely on and never leave my side. Of course, not everyone who is Questbridge is not my friend and maybe not like me completely. I thank Questbridge for all the opportunities that they have provided me and I appreciate Questbridge so much as a support group for everything that I’ve been through. Take some time. Talk to your parents and teachers about it and decide if Questbridge is for you. There is one thing I want to mention before I go. Most of the Questbridge schools are ED binding. Only 4 schools are an exception: MIT, Stanford, Princeton, and Yale.  What this means is that if you go through with the match process and you get matched to a school, you are required to attend this school, which makes Questbridge a difficult process. However, it is worth it and I promise you that it is. Talk to adults, parents and you can even message me and I will be more than happy to give you my input. I hope to see more faces apply to Questbridge because it has connected me with some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.

please feel free to ask me questions about questbridge and scholarships and things like that. this is something that means the world to me and would be more than happy to help you all. thanks everyone and have a great day.

best,