National College Match

College Prep Scholarship

Student Resource Center

Refer A Student

About Us

Individualized College Admissions Counseling

40 selected students will be paired with an experienced counselor from QuestBridge’s staff who will provide personalized college admissions and financial aid advice. QuestBridge college admissions counseling offers low-income students the type of professional advisory services that many affluent students already have. Private college admissions counselors charge as much as $200 per hour for comparable services.

QuestBridge’s counseling helps students demystify the application and financial aid processes. Our counselors offer guidance based on our organization’s 15 years of working with high-achieving low-income students and reading hundreds of college applications each year. We have a strong understanding of what college admissions officers look for in choosing their future students. On this basis, we are able to advise students on how best to highlight their academic achievements, and how to present their socio-economic status in the best possible light and even turn it to their advantage.


Counseling Services


Counseling may include any or all of the following:

  • Guidance in how to select the right colleges to apply to

  • Suggestions on which standardized tests to take

  • Advice on completing every part of the admissions application, including how to identify and highlight unique strengths and abilities, how to approach short answers and essays, and how to balance the different elements to create a strong overall application

  • Review of application essays to offer insights and suggestions for improvement

  • Answers to general and specific financial aid questions

Award Specifics


Award recipients will:

  • receive eight hours of personalized college counseling from a designated member of QuestBridge’s professional staff.

  • be advised throughout the college admissions process via personal phone calls and e-mail.



"My QuestBridge counselor showed me how best to present my strengths, which made me understand myself better than ever. In retrospect, the college counseling process not only helped me compile a strong college application, but also helped me grow. My writing improved, my thoughts became clearer, and I gained confidence to face challenges ahead. QuestBridge is doing incredibly meaningful work; it gives low-income students the courage and ability to dream."


Jia Li (Lily) Zhu

San Francisco, CA

2007 College Prep Scholarship Recipient

2007 National College Match Finalist

Harvard University, Class of 2012