QuestBridge National College Match - Quest for Excellence

QuestBridge is pleased to offer eight Quest for Excellence Awards that will complement the 2010 National College Match program. These additional awards are designed to enhance educational exploration for outstanding low-income high school seniors with a range of backgrounds and interests.

Columbia University, New York, NY
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Each awardee will receive:

a new laptop computer with educational software.

-or-

an expense-paid visit to a QuestBridge partner college. Awardees will have the opportunity to spend several days exploring a campus, talking with students and professors, and observing classes in order to get a feel for the college’s atmosphere.

Please see below for award descriptions and application information.

The Quest for Excellence Bay Area Award will be granted to a student from the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Quest for Excellence First-Generation Award will be granted to a student whose perseverance and dedication to academic excellence will enable him or her to be among the first generation in his or her family to attend a four-year college.

The Quest for Excellence Great Plains Award will be granted to a student from the region between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.

The Quest for Excellence Military Award will be granted to a student with one or more parents on active duty in the U.S. armed forces.

The Quest for Excellence Native American Award will be granted to a Native American student who aspires to attend a top-tier college.

The Quest for Excellence Pre-Med Award will be granted to a student who intends to follow a pre-med course of study in college.

The Quest for Excellence Rural Award will be granted to a student from a rural area in the United States who demonstrates a desire for opportunities that may have been limited or inaccessible in a rural environment.

The Quest for Excellence Science & Technology Award will be granted to a student interested in careers in the sciences and/or technology.

To be considered for the Quest for Excellence Awards, applicants must:

complete and submit the QuestBridge National College Match application by September 30, 2010.

complete and submit the Quest for Excellence supplemental application available on their "My Locker" page and due on October 12. Applicants may apply for one or more awards by checking the appropriate box(es) on the application form and responding, in 300 words or less, to the related essay question(s).

Although applicants to the Quest for Excellence Awards are required to complete and submit the National College Match application, they are not required to participate in either the QuestBridge College Match process or the QuestBridge Regular Decision process.

Selection is based on QuestBridge’s standard Selection Criteria, as well as on the characteristics mentioned in the award descriptions above.

QuestBridge reserves the right, if no qualified applications are received for a given award category, to transfer that award to another award category.

The Quest for Excellence Award recipients will be notified in January 2011.