<p>If your family income is under $60,000 or so, and you are otherwise a great candidate for selective colleges, you should know about Questbridge. The program is a bit confusing and not too well marketed, but it basically selects finalists (I think about 200 out of 2,000 applicants this year) to put in front of a short list of excellent schools. The core part of the program is the College Match aspect which matches students with schools in an Early Decision deal with full, 4 year financial aid. Students do not have to participate in the College Match and can instead just become visible to the partner schools. Anyway, it's confusing I know so check it out at <a href="http://www.Questbridge.org%5B/url%5D">www.Questbridge.org</a> . If you are high achieving and low income, I strongly urge you to apply next year. The app is COMPREHENSIVE so don't wait until fall to do it. Work on it over the summer. A side benefit of applying is that by the end of September, you will have an application that you can adapt easily for the common app or other schools. Questbridge gets you going on the whole app process even if you are not selected as a finalist. My D is a finalist and not participating in the match, but good things are happening. When we hear what all comes form her Questbridge experience, I will post more.</p>
<p>Related message to high achieving, low-income juniors (and seniors.) Selective private universities and private liberal arts schools, despite financial pressures, are becoming more and more concerned about diversifying their campuses not just via color and ethnicity, but by family income as well. </p>
<p>In many cases, students with family incomes at $60,000 or less are attending private schools at a lower cost than those students would incur at their flagship state universities. Along with applying to programs like Questbridge, diversify your application lists. Do not eliminate private institutions with $35,000+ sticker prices. Actual costs for low-income students can be much, much lower.</p>