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College Prep Scholarship
To find the answer to your question, please click on the relevant category below:
The Awards or Scholarships QuestBridge Offers
Q: Will the College Prep Scholarship pay for me to attend any other summer programs?
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A: No. The College Prep Scholarship is limited to specific summer programs at Brandeis, Emory, Harvard, Notre Dame, Penn, Stanford, and Yale.
Q: Will transportation costs for attending the QuestBridge College Admissions Conferences be covered?
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A: QuestBridge will offer a limited number of travel grants to students who will be traveling long distances to attend the College Admissions Conferences. As a nonprofit organization, QuestBridge does not have the resources to sponsor travel for all students who receive invitations to the QuestBridge conferences.
We encourage you to fundraise on your own from sources such as local businesses and churches. Many students who have attended our organization's events in past years have been successful in doing so. We encourage you to review the fundraising guide on the Junior Statesmen Foundation’s website for more ideas.
Q: Will the QuestBridge College Prep Scholarship pay for any of the costs of attending college?
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A: No. The College Prep Scholarship is designed to provide high school juniors with resources and information that will prepare them for the college application process. When students who are currently juniors become seniors, they will then be eligible to apply for the National College Match Program, which connects students with full four-year scholarships to QuestBridge partner colleges.
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Eligibility for QuestBridge programs
Q: What qualifies a student as "low-income"?
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A: College Prep Scholarship awards are for students from households that earn less than $60,000 per year and have experienced long-term economic hardship. Please see our selection criteria for more information.
Q: What qualifies a student as "high-achieving" or academically "outstanding"?
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A: College Prep Scholars typically take the most challenging courses available in their high school and are in the top 5%-10% of their class. For more information, please see the selection criteria and our College Prep Scholar Profile.
Q: Can I apply for the College Prep Scholarship if I am not a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident?
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A: If you are a U.S. citizen, Permanent Resident, or international student residing in the United States, you are eligible to apply for the College Prep Scholarship. International students living outside the U.S. are not eligible to apply.
Q: Is the College Prep Scholarship only for minorities?
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A: No. QuestBridge programs are open to students of all races, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds.
Q: I am not from a low-income background, but I received a mailing from QuestBridge inviting me to apply. Why did you choose to send a mailing to me, and how did you receive my name?
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A: We receive names and addresses of students who scored highly on the PSAT, SAT, or ACT through the College Board and ACT. Thus, many students receive our mailing because they did exceptionally well on their standardized tests and checked a box on their test form indicating that they would like to receive information about scholarship opportunities. The College Board and ACT do not release information regarding students' family income. We estimate students' household income using data from publicly available sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau. However, these sources do not provide perfect information on the income of individual households. As a result, some of the students who receive our mailing do not qualify financially for our programs. We hope that these students will refer others who qualify for the program.
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QuestBridge Selection Criteria
Q: What criteria are used to select College Prep Scholars?
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A: Students are evaluated based on every section of the application. No single factor is decisive. Grades, curriculum, standardized test scores (if available), socioeconomic factors, teacher recommendation, and essay responses are the most heavily weighted factors. Due to the volume of applications that we receive, QuestBridge cannot comment on individual application decisions.
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Required Standardized Tests
Q: Do I need to have taken any standardized tests (like the PSAT, SAT, SAT Subject tests, ACT, or PLAN)?
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A: QuestBridge recommends, but does not require, that students take at least one standardized test before applying for the College Prep Scholarship.
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Who Should Write My Recommendations
Q: Whom should I ask to write my recommendation letter?
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A: You should request a recommendation from a teacher who knows you well and taught you in a core academic class (math, English, science, history/social studies, or foreign language).
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Application Process and Timeline
Q: What are the details for the application process to the college summer programs?
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A: The application criteria and instructions are different for each summer program covered under the College Prep Scholarship. Relevant details are available on the College Prep Scholarship Summer Program page.
Q: How will I be notified about decisions regarding my application?
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A: Applicants will be notified via e-mail. Since e-mail will be the primary method of communication between QuestBridge and applicants, you should ensure that you have consistent access to a reliable e-mail account. In addition, you should regularly check any spam or bulk e-mail folders for your e-mail account in case QuestBridge correspondence has been inadvertently routed there.
Q: Can I only apply for one or two specific awards?
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A: No, the College Prep Scholarship application allows you to apply to multiple awards at once. To be considered for a summer program scholarship or college counseling, you should indicate your interest in the awards preferences section of the application. Applicants are automatically considered for all other awards, with the exception of Quest for Excellence awards, which require additional short essays.
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Filling Out the QuestBridge Application
Q: Do you require GPA on a specific scale?
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A: Please fill out the GPA section according to the scale that your school uses: 4.0, 5.0, 100, or other. Make sure to provide us with both your unweighted and weighted GPAs if they are available.
Q: How should I fill out the Transcript section if my school’s grading system uses a 100 point scale rather than letter grades?
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A: If your school has its own conversion system, you may use that. Otherwise, you can use this chart to convert your transcript to letter grades:
Grade Conversion Chart
|
Grade Points
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100 Point Scale
|
Letter Grade
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| 4.0 |
93–100 |
A or A+
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| 3.7 |
90–92 |
A- |
| 3.3 |
87–89 |
B+ |
| 3.0 |
83–86 |
B |
| 2.7 |
80–82 |
B- |
| 2.3 |
77–79 |
C+ |
| 2.0 |
73–76 |
C |
| 1.7 |
70–72 |
C- |
| 1.3 |
67–69 |
D+
|
| 1.0 |
63–66 |
D
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Q: How does weighted GPA differ from unweighted GPA?
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A: Some secondary schools choose to grade students on a 5.0 scale rather than the typical 4.0 scale for certain classes. A student typically receives 5.0 grade points for a class if he or she earns an “A” grade in an Honors, Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) class, while each subsequent grade is worth an additional point over its worth in a non-weighted system. An “A” grade in a non-Honors/AP/IB class still earns 4.0 grade points.
While the system described above is the most common weighting system for GPA, there is no single standard for weighting secondary school grades. Different schools have different weighting practices, while others do not weight grades at all. Please fill out the GPA section to the best of your ability using the scale that your school provides, and enter "0" (zero) in the appropriate fields if your school does not provide either an unweighted or weighted GPA.
Q: What are examples of “people in the household who are supported 50% or more by the primary caregivers”?
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A: This should include individuals in your home who are financially supported at least 50% by your caregivers. Usually this will mean you, your siblings or step-siblings, or other financially dependent relatives, like cousins or grandparents. Siblings in college should also be included if they depend at least 50% on your caregivers, even if they spend much of the year living elsewhere. Siblings who are attending graduate school should not be included.
Q: Can you define "non-custodial parent"?
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A: A non-custodial parent is a parent who does not have physical or legal custody of his/her child. Many colleges believe that it is the responsibility of both parents (biological or adoptive) to pay for a student’s college expenses.
Q: Under what circumstances do I need to report non-custodial parent income?
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A: You are required to report non-custodial parent information to us (and to colleges in the future), except in cases where there has been a substantial history of little to no contact. Typically non-custodial parents are expected to contribute financially to their child’s education, and therefore QuestBridge and colleges need information about their income and assets.
Q: What documents do I need to fill out the Household Income section?
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A: We recommend that you fill this section out together with your parent or legal guardian. Questions 1-5 in the Household Income section reference your parents’ or legal guardians’ 2011 federal tax return. If they have not yet filed their taxes, use their W-2 forms and other records of incomes (bank statements, investment reports, etc.) to answer the questions to the best of your ability. For your reference, here is a link to a blank 1040 income tax return for 2011. For untaxed income, please consult your parent or guardian for any available records.
If you live in two separate households or you have a biological parent who lives in a separate household (e.g. your parents are divorced), report the information for your primary household under the Household Income section. Your primary household is where you spend more of your time. You will also be required to report information on your non-custodial parent under the Non-custodial Parent Household Income section, except in cases where there has been no contact with that parent over a significant period of time. The Non-custodial Household Income and Assets sections only appear if your parents do not live in the same household.
Q: What figures from our family's tax forms should I enter for income in the application?
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A: We suggest filling this section out with your parent or guardian and ask that you provide us with detailed information about your household income. This includes:
• Your household wages and earnings (1040 line 7; 1040EQ line 1; W-2 box 1 or estimate),
• Interest and dividend income (1040 total of lines 8a, 8b, 9a, and 9b; 1040A for lines 8a, 8b, 9a, and 9b; 1040EZ line2),
• Taxed income, such as unemployment compensation, alimony , inheritances, or capital gains, and
• Untaxed income, such as child support, workers’ compensation, TANF, or scholarships and grants.
If your household does not receive income in some of these categories, you should enter “0” or “no” for those that do not apply to you.
Q: How do I find the current market value of our home?
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A: If your parent or guardian does not know this information, there are various websites that can provide you with this information, though results may vary. For simplicity, we suggest using Zillow.com (or a comparably well-established real estate website), entering in your home address and using the “Zestimate” amount as a basic estimate for this value.
Q: How do I know what my school's passing mark is?
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A:Your school's passing mark is the mark or grade that indicates a passing versus a failing grade. What each school considers a passing mark may vary slightly. For example, on an A-F scale, often a "D" or a "D-" is a passing mark, and an "F" is a failing mark. On a 100-point scale, the passing mark may be a 60, 65, or another number. Please ask your high school counselor or a teacher if you do not know your school's passing mark.
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Resolving a Technical Issue
Q: Why is my fax not showing up as received on the "My Locker" page?
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A: Please double-check that the fax was sent using the correct bar-coded cover sheet, and allow 48 hours for it to be processed. You can then check its status on your "My Locker" page. If it still does not appear, please allow extra processing time before you try resending it, as we may have to process the fax manually.
Q: Why isn't my account linked to my recommender's?
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A: We use e-mail addresses to link student accounts to their recommenders. It is likely that you have listed a different e-mail for your recommender than the one your recommender used to register his/her account. Please clarify with your recommender which e-mail address you should use for them and then update your account.
Please ask your recommender not to change the e-mail address on his/her existing account, as this will not create a link to your account. Instead, please change your recommender's e-mail address on your "My Locker" page.
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Submitting a QuestBridge Application
and Supplementary Materials
Q: Does QuestBridge accept paper applications?
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A: No. College Prep Scholarship applications must be completed and submitted online. Teacher recommendations may be submitted by fax, but must be sent using the appropriate cover sheet provided through the student’s account.
Q: Do I need to submit my transcript and test score reports to QuestBridge? If so, how do I submit them?
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A: Yes, to apply for the College Prep Scholarship, you are required to submit your high school transcript and, if you have listed any standardized test scores on your application, your test score reports. To submit these materials, please go to the "My Recommendations" section of your "My Locker" page and print the fax cover sheet for transcripts and test scores. Either you or your guidance counselor may fax these materials to QuestBridge.
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The Relationship Between QuestBridge's Programs
Q: What is the relationship between the QuestBridge College Prep Scholarship and the QuestBridge National College Match?
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A: The College Prep Scholarship (CPS) and the National College Match are both programs offered by QuestBridge. The CPS is open to high school juniors and grants awards designed to prepare high-achieving low-income students for the QuestBridge National College Match as well as the college admissions process in general. The National College Match is open to high school seniors and serves as a joint application for admission and full four-year scholarships to QuestBridge partner colleges. The information that applicants submit for the CPS application as juniors is automatically transferred into the National College Match application if a student chooses to apply to the National College Match program once they become a senior. Applicants will still be able to edit their information before they submit their applications for the National College Match.
Q: Is the College Prep Scholarship application required in order to apply for the National College Match?
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A: No. Students may apply to either one or both.
Q: Will my status as a College Prep Scholar make me more likely to win a National College Match award?
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A: Probably. The College Prep Scholarship awards are designed to prepare students to be strong applicants for the National College Match as well as for the admissions process for selective colleges generally. At the same time, it is important to note that many students have received College Match scholarships without having participated in the College Prep Scholarship, and not all College Prep Scholars go on to receive College Match scholarships.
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