Founded in 2009, the QuestBridge scholarship is a highly competitive, fully paid college scholarship worth upwards of $200,000. It is offered to students who come from a wide range of backgrounds who show strong academic prowess.
This year there were 6,683 finalists for the scholarship from over 20,000 applicants, and 3 of those finalists were from HSTAT. Those finalists are Youssef Hejazi, who is headed to Vassar college. Jimin Lee, who is headed to Brown University and Chanry Chen who is headed to Boston College.
QuestBridge is a national nonprofit that aims to support students with high grades who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to get into colleges. They help cover the cost of four years of education.
To be eligible for a QuestBridge scholarship, students need to have at least a 3.5 GPA. They should also show strong skills in leadership and be a model for their peers. Student family incomes need to be less than $65,000.
After being signed up, counselors recommend entry into the QuestBridge summer program. At the summer program, students need to create a summer application that consists of an essay and responses to multiple choice questions. Students who then participate hope to be matched to a college and gain the scholarship.
Having 3 winners from the same school is rare, and also remarkable. Going on 10 years in the college office, Ms. Dumaresq could not recall this many students winning the award.
Former College Advisor and now Assistant Principal of STEM, Mrs. Vierling, can only remember one winner from 2011.
Senior QuestBridge winner Youssef Hejazi shares advice with students who are on the path to college: “Your efforts won’t go unnoticed, keep working hard.”
When asked about the scholarship process, college advisor Ms. Dumaresq said, “don’t be afraid of rejection because opportunities can open up for you in the future.”
To apply to QuestBridge, visit here.
