Hey everyone! I recently got matched with Northwestern and this is a great thing and I am really happy! I am definitely planning on going and trying it out. My problem is that I am someone that is very prone to depression/mood disorders and therefore if I get really depressed there (no family, very rigorous course work, zero sunshine in the winter) I am wondering if I am allowed to back out of the Questbridge match for mental health? I know that it says we must attend for four-years. But just so I can stop having anxiety, can someone answer if transferring to my state school would be allowed under the condition that I have severe mental health problems during my first year?
Thanks!
Hi Sad Girl, congratulations on being Matched! The fact that you were a finalist indicates that you have already overcome a lot of obstacles and done great things, despite both situational and internal/depression struggles you have had.
I believe that any student at any university can leave or transfer if the situation is not right for them; in your case, the Match scholarship would not follow, of course. It’s kind of the same thing with students on academic or athletic scholarships – if they leave, they lose the scholarship but of course can enroll at other places. HOWEVER, I would strongly encourage you to reach out to QuestBridge to get your specific questions answered, as well as to the QuestBridge liaison for Northwestern.
Another ray of hope — Northwestern appears to have one of the largest QuestBridge Scholar networks of any partner school. I believe their communications said around 400 students, and they seem engaged and active in student life. You will have a built-in support system of lower-income students to lean on and learn from, many of whom have also likely been through hardships.