Ranking Colleges

Ranking Colleges for the Match

Being able to rank colleges is what makes the National College Match so unique. By ranking colleges, you could be “matched”— or admitted early with a guaranteed full four-year Match Scholarship — to the college that appears highest on your list that also wants to match with you.

This year, there are more opportunities to match than ever before! You can now rank up to 15 colleges in order of preference. We encourage you to research all of our college partners. In previous years, students who ranked more colleges had a higher chance of matching, however you must be absolutely certain you would attend every college that appears on your list.

You Should Know:

You can be matched to only ONE school.
You are committed to attending your match school the following fall. Admission through ranking colleges for the Match is binding.*
If matched, you will receive a full four-year scholarship. You can be confident that you can afford to attend a great college!
You have the option not to rank colleges, but then you will not be considered for the Match Scholarship and you may only benefit from applying through QuestBridge Regular Decision.

* MIT does not require students admitted through the match to commit to attending their institution.

Match Requirements

If you are selected as a Finalist, you have started an application with the colleges you have ranked, and you must submit additional materials (called Match Requirements) to each of the colleges on your list by November 1. Click the links below to view each college's Match Requirements, which you can also find on each college partner's Application Requirements page.

If you have a question about submitting materials that is not answered on the school's Application Requirements page, please email or call the school's admissions or financial aid office directly through the contact information at the bottom of their Application Requirements page.

Match Requirements
Amherst College Barnard College Boston College Boston University Bowdoin College Brown University California Institute of Technology Carleton College Case Western Reserve University Claremont McKenna College Colby College Colgate University College of the Holy Cross Colorado College Columbia University Dartmouth College Davidson College Denison University Duke University Emory University Grinnell College Hamilton College Haverford College Macalester College	MIT Middlebury College Northwestern University Oberlin College Pomona College Princeton University Rice University Scripps College Stanford University Swarthmore College Tufts University University of Chicago University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania University of Southern California University of Virginia Vanderbilt University Vassar College Washington and Lee University Washington University in St. Louis Wellesley College Wesleyan University Williams College Yale University

Match Requirements

California Institute of Technology

Carleton College

Case Western Reserve University

Claremont McKenna College

Colby College

Colgate University

College of the Holy Cross

Northwestern University

University of Chicago

University of Notre Dame

University of Pennsylvania

University of Southern California

University of Virginia

Vanderbilt University

Vassar College

Washington and Lee University

Washington University in St. Louis

Options Following the Match

If you are a Finalist who did not match, you can check to see if a college partner you ranked will still consider you for Early Decision or Early Action. Learn more about options following the Match for each school.