It’s 2:13pm, right before school ends. You open the email. Silence, except for your pounding heart, surrounds you as you move through links. You’ve worked so hard up to this point and … you matched!
This scene is what Samuel Noriega (12) experienced when he found out he matched with his top choice of school, Boston University, as a finalist for the Questbridge National College Match. According to Questbridge’s website, the Match Scholarship is a full four-year scholarship worth over $325,000 for “high-acheiveing students from low-income background” to one of Questbridge’s 55 college partners. Students must rank colleges and can be “matched,” which means being admitted early to the college highest on your list that wants to match with you. Once a student is matched, they must attend as it is a binding decision.
“So I found it online when I was searching for colleges to apply to,” Noriega said. “And I was like, ‘Which way would be the easiest?’ Or like, ‘Which way would be better for me? And I know everyone usually uses [the Common Application], but then I heard about Questbridge. And the first thing I did was the Questbridge College Prep Scholars [Program], I did that one. And I guess [it] set forth me applying through the Match Questbridge thing.”
The Common Application (commonly referred to as the Common App) is a platform that allows students to submit a single online application to any of the hundreds of participating colleges. The Questbridge Match, on the other hand, is a completely separate application. It is only for low-income students and its timeline is much earlier than the Common Application. The first deadline, in September, is to apply to be part of the Match, where students submit general application information like their extracurriculars, grades, recommendations and a writing section. After this, top applicants are chosen as finalists and announced in October. These finalists submit Match Requirements like the CSS profile, FAFSA and supplementals, which all vary by school, but all must be submitted by the beginning of November. By December, finalists learn if they matched with a college they ranked. The second part of the application is the most difficult for many students due to the tight turnaround. While students applying for regular decision may have months to work on supplements for their colleges, Match Finalists only have about two weeks between when their finalist status is announced and the beginning of November to write supplemental essays and submit financial aid applications for up to 15 schools. Noriega ranked and completed applications for 12 different schools.
“The questions that they asked and the application process was way more specific than Common app,” Noriega said. “I feel like Common App really generalizes you a little, but Questbridge lets you get really specific with your circumstances and how you are as an individual.”
For Noriega, managing such a demanding application was difficult. In the same two weeks, he needed to complete his applications, he was also involuntarily scheduled for work, had an internship and had little support in completing his application, including financial aid. Noriega spent days working on his applications at the library, pulled all-nighters and even worked on his applications at work. One of his only sources of support was a librarian at Bartlett Public Library who helped him decide which idea to write an essay on.
“[What motivated me to keep going was] just the fact that I would take this off my family’s shoulders, like the financial stuff about it, and that I could be the first one in my family to be as successful and make myself and my family proud,” Noriega said.
Leslie Fleming is a professional school counselor for seniors at White Station High School (WSHS) and helps with college applications. According to Fleming, only one or two students from White Station match each year. She says that in a way, the Match process does become more competitive than applying through the Common Application because there are less schools available to apply to and only a certain number of spots for Matches. It’s important to note that even if an applicant isn’t matched, they are not rejected from the school and can still apply, though this process varies by school. She also notes that unlike the Common Application, Questbridge’s Match requires counselors to answer more questions about the student. Many eligible students choose not to do the Match considering the demanding nature of the Quesbridge Match. However, she recommends eligible students apply and feels there isn’t much for students to lose considering the opportunity.
“I think if you fall within the boundaries, I think, ‘Why not go for it,’” Fleming said. “Why not try? You know, I think it’s a great opportunity. I’ve seen students do great things with it.”
For many students, navigating this process is difficult and students often are lost when it comes to getting help. Fleming wants to remind students that all the counselors “have an open door policy” for all students. She also recommends using available resources and asking questions to get help.
“Don’t be afraid,” Fleming said. “Just start reading and learning and, you know, there’s emails and phone numbers. Ask your questions. That’s what those people are there for, you know. Don’t be afraid to ask a question. Send an email and ask.”
Despite the difficulty of the application process, in the end it was worth it for Noriega. The chance of receiving the scholarship was more important to him than the difficulty.
“If [other students] want to do it, it’s a challenging process,” Noriega said. “But if you think you could do it, you could do it. And if you don’t finalize, that’s a-okay. There’s always something there for you. And I just turned out to be lucky.”