Successful QuestBridge applicants are academically high-achieving students who have experienced challenges due to economic circumstances.

You can refer students to us by filling out this form.

QuestBridge seeks students who have demonstrated a level of academic achievement that meets the admissions standards of our partner colleges. These are students whom you can envision thriving on the campus of a leading college. In addition, students must demonstrate evidence of financial hardship and obstacles they have overcome.

While there are no absolute academic or financial cut-offs, the majority of our successful applicants share the following characteristics:

• They are in the top 5% or 10% of their class.
• They have strong grades in challenging classes and high standardized test scores.
• Their household income is less than $60,000 a year, and often less than $50,000 a year.
• Often they are among the first generation in their family to attend college.

In order to be successful QuestBridge applicants, students must meet both academic and financial criteria.

Basic Eligibility

To be eligible for the College Prep Scholarship, applicants must be in their junior year of high school and planning to apply to college in the fall of their senior year. See our College Prep Scholarship Selection Criteria page.

For the National College Match, applicants must be graduating from high school in the spring of the academic year in which they are applying (or earlier), and planning to enroll as a freshman in college the following fall. Please visit our Selection Criteria page for more details on our academic and financial criteria. You can also see statistics on past successful applicants by visiting our Match Profile, Finalist Profile, and Acceptance Rates pages.