<p>Sometime in the summer I got a letter saying that I should apply for the QuestBridge scholarship program. For those of you that don't know what that is, you basically apply to the program and you have a chance of being chosen for scholarships that will either cover your application fee as well as pay for all four years of college or only part for parts of it.</p>
<p>I'm wondering if I should apply and if I would even have a chance of getting chosen at all. I wasn't that strong of a student last year; my grades took a hit because of a few things I was dealing with at that time, so I don't believe my junior year grades are an accurate representation of me as a student. I was a mediocre student all of last year too, so I'm not too sure if any of my former teachers would vouch for me. I'm also unsure as to whether or not I would qualify financially. My parents and I live with my grandmother so we don't own any houses or real estate. My father and I are unemployed and my mother makes around $30k a year working two jobs. I know that I should probably apply anyways and try to get as many opportunities possible to afford college, but the application is tedious and I don't want to waste my time doing something that I'm not going to have a chance at. </p>
<p>Any input is appreciated. </p>
<p>Edit: I moved this to the subforum 'Questbridge Programs'. I apologize for not realizing that this thread would have fitted better in that section earlier.</p>
<p>Have you read the info on the Questbridge website? That might help you to make a decision.
Questbridge does not offer scholarships. It’s an organization that ‘matches’ high achieving low income students with selective colleges. Questbridge uses their application to weed the applicant pool down to a group of finalists. These finalists then have the opportunity to choose (called ‘ranking’) up to eight colleges to apply to - just like applying ED but to eight schools at the same time - and if any of the colleges you chose also choose you, that college offers you a robust 4 year financial aid package that covers the full cost of attendance (meaning tuition, R/B, books, travel, personal) with no loans and no parent contribution. (If more than one colleges wants you, you are matched with the highest ranked college on your list). At most QB partner colleges you, the student, will have to do a work study job and summer work and even give some of your savings if you have any. The match packages vary a lot - some require no student contribution (e.g. Rice and UVA) and some require ~5/6K/year from the student (e.g. Brown and Stanford). You can compare them here: <a href=“QuestBridge | Scholarship Details”>http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/ncm-scholarship-details</a></p>
<p>Your financial situation definitely makes you eligible for QB NCM. I can’t speak to your academic situation but you don’t seem very confident. Most QB students are high achievers in some realm. Even if they don’t have the highest scores or even grades, often they have been leaders at their school or in an outside organization, or excelled at some activity. In other words, they have worked hard at something they care about, even if it’s volunteer work or church related. I’ve read at least 500 Questbridge essays and each student brings something different to the table, but they all have some passion or drive, and most have done well in school (sometimes very very well), despite the hardships of a low income family life. You can get data for finalist profiles on the QB website also and watch videos that describe the process. </p>
<p>If you apply and are selected as a finalist, you will have fee waivers for all the QB schools, and the QB finalist award is a national honor, which looks great on your apps whether you are matched or not. Students often actually like the early application deadline because it forces them to be more organized and get stuff done earlier.<br>
Only you can decide whether you have the right kind of profile, but also if you don’t have the desire/energy/stamina/motivation to complete the QB application, then you probably wont be successful in the process.
But regardless of what you decide, do look at the QB partner schools, esp the smaller liberal arts colleges, because these are the colleges that will give you fantastic financial aid - you will basically have a full ride if admitted whether through QB or on your own…<a href=“QuestBridge”>http://www.questbridge.org/partner-colleges/overview-listing</a></p>