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"The moment you are identified as a QuestBridge applicant, you are prioritized in a way that very few applicants are. When you're a QuestBridge student, you're in a priority bin. They've got a leg up in a way that perhaps an athlete or legacy would have a leg up."

Tom Parker
Dean of Admission
& Financial Aid
Amherst College

"Before QuestBridge, I was considering colleges close to home that I could afford based on local scholarships and federal aid. However, after hearing of QuestBridge, I started to dream bigger, coming to understand that acceptance to amazing colleges was not only within my grasp, but financially feasible as well."


Joey Barnett

Tulare, CA

2007 College Match
  scholarship recipient
Princeton University, Class of 2012

National College Match Program

The QuestBridge National College Match helps outstanding low-income high school seniors gain admission and full four-year scholarships to some of the nation's most selective colleges.

If you are a student who has achieved academic excellence in the face of economic challenges, we encourage you to apply to the National College Match. You may be concerned about tuition costs, but QuestBridge's partner colleges offer generous financial aid packages that cover 100% of demonstrated financial need, making them very affordable for low-income students.

Last year, QuestBridge's partner colleges offered admission and more than $100 million in financial aid to over 1,000 students who applied to the National College Match.

The key benefits of the National College Match program include:





Full Four-Year Scholarships with No Loans


The College Match offers full four-year scholarships covering tuition and room and board for high-achieving low-income students. All College Match scholarships cover 100% of demonstrated financial need and are loan-free.

  • Most of our partner colleges include the cost of travel and books in their scholarship packages and automatically renew the scholarship for all four years of college.

  • Last year, 268 students were selected as College Match recipients and received admission and full four-year College Match Scholarships to partner colleges.

Click here for more details on the College Match scholarship.




Top-Ranked Colleges


Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

QuestBridge works with some of the nation's leading colleges and universities. All of our partner colleges are committed to opening their doors to high-achieving students regardless of family income. Our 29 partner colleges are among the most selective in the country, and include:


  • Liberal arts colleges that offer small class sizes and tight-knit campus communities.

  • Research universities that provide a broad range of academic specialties, resources and facilities.


Click here for more details on QuestBridge's partner colleges.





Focus on High-Achieving Low-Income Students


The QuestBridge National College Match has been created to maximize the admissions chances and financial aid results for high-achieving low-income students.

  • Socio-economic identification: By participating in the QuestBridge program, students ensure that their socio-economic status is understood by admissions officers at QuestBridge partner colleges who are actively seeking to increase the number of outstanding low-income students on their campuses. For information on some of the characteristics that QuestBridge and our partner colleges look for in students, please see the following pages:

  • The QuestBridge application: Our application is designed to help high-achieving students turn their low-income status into an advantage in the college admissions process. The application includes numerous questions and essay prompts that aid students in presenting a full picture of their intellectual promise and personal qualities in light of the obstacles they have overcome.

  • Excellent financial aid: All of QuestBridge's partner colleges offer financial aid packages that cover 100% of demonstrated financial need and are loan-free, so students can be assured that attending a top-tier college will not place a financial burden on their family. Our partner colleges' financial aid packages are so generous that the real cost of attendance is typically lower than the cost of attending a state university or a local community college.




Two Opportunities for College Admission



"For years, I've pictured myself on a college campus being taught by incredible professors and surrounded by beautiful gothic architecture. However, I knew that for this to happen I'd need a scholarship to get the higher education that I truly desired. QuestBridge made my dream a reality."


Marsha Moses

Brooklyn, NY

2008 College Match
  scholarship recipient
University of Chicago, Class of 2013

The QuestBridge National College Match program offers two chances to gain admission to our partner colleges:

  1. The QuestBridge College Match process pairs outstanding low-income students with early admission and full four-year scholarships to top-ranked colleges.

    • Students participating in the College Match process complete one application by September 30 and use it to apply early to up to 8 of QuestBridge's 29 partner colleges, ranking the schools in order of preference. The rankings are binding (with the exception of MIT,
      Notre Dame, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale); students must attend
      the school highest on their ranking list that also admits them.
      Please see the College Match Process page for details.

    • Last year, 268 QuestBridge applicants who participated in the
      College Match process were selected as College Match scholarship recipients, gaining admission and full scholarships to our partner colleges.

  2. The QuestBridge Regular Decision process enables qualified students
    to apply to our partner colleges for free via the regular admissions
    process using their QuestBridge application.

    • Most of our partner colleges accept the QuestBridge application in lieu of their own application for Regular Decision admission. Those that do not will use the QuestBridge application as a supplement. Please see the Regular Decision Process page for details.

    • Last year, our partner colleges offered admission and generous financial aid to more than 800 QuestBridge applicants who applied through the Regular Decision process.


Students can take advantage of either or both opportunities. Outstanding low-income students who are not interested in participating in the College Match process can choose to rank zero partner colleges and then to apply to their preferred partner colleges solely through the Regular Decision process (students making this choice must still submit their application by September 30). This option can benefit students who want to take advantage of other benefits that QuestBridge offers to students beyond the College Match process through its focus on high-achieving low-income students and the Quest Scholars Network.




Free Application


Applying to the National College Match is completely free of charge. Our organization has worked since 1994 to place a top-tier college education within reach for outstanding low-income students. In keeping with our mission as a non-profit organization, QuestBridge charges no fees to students for any of our programs.

Additionally, QuestBridge strives to ensure that National College Match finalists can afford all aspects of the college admissions process by partnering with colleges that waive their application fees for finalists.

Click here to access the National College Match application, along with instructions for how to apply.




Quest Scholars Network


While QuestBridge serves as a tool for gaining admission to top-tier colleges, the Quest Scholars Network is the program that maintains relationships with QuestBridge finalists who gain admission to QuestBridge partner colleges and universities nationwide. The Quest Scholars Network seeks to unite the program's Scholars by connecting them through an online network and local Quest Scholar Chapters on many college campuses.

In addition to the resources each campus provides, the Quest Scholars Network focuses on building scholarship, leadership, and service opportunities and provides tools that will help Quest Scholars succeed in college and in life. A new Quest Scholars Mentoring Program is currently underway, which promises to play a crucial role in fostering strong connections among Quest Scholars. The program's goal is that it leads to friendships and important associations that can last a lifetime.

The following opportunities are available to Quest Scholars:

  • Quest Summer Service Grants

  • Summer internships in Palo Alto, California with QuestBridge and the Quest Scholars Network

  • Leading groups of students at QuestBridge College Admissions Conferences at Stanford and Yale

  • Participating in the Quest Ambassador Program to recruit high-acheiving low-income students to top-tier schools

  • Serving as Quest Liaison Volunteers for their campus

  • Attending Quest Scholar events on partner college campuses

  • Hosting Quest Scholars during partner college Admit Weekends

Click here for more information about the Quest Scholars Network.




Quest for Excellence Awards


QuestBridge is pleased to offer eight Quest for Excellence Awards that will complement the National College Match program. These additional awards are designed to enhance educational opportunities for outstanding low-income high school seniors with a range of backgrounds and interests.

Each awardee will receive:

  • a new laptop computer

    • -or-

  • an expense-paid visit to a QuestBridge partner college

Click here for more details on the Quest for Excellence Awards.