Full-ride Scholarships with Questbridge

By Tayeb Rahman
Co-Editor | The Pacific Times

NP3 students have the opportunity to gain full-ride scholarships to the top universities in the nation through the competitive Questbridge National College Match program.

In the past two years, three NP3 high students were selected as Questbridge scholars. One 2024 graduate matched with MIT, receiving a full scholarship, and another student received 95% aid from Questbridge through regular decision to attend Princeton.

This year two NP3 seniors were Questbridge finalists and matched with colleges.

“If you are still on the fence about whether or not to apply, my advice is to go for it; you have nothing to lose and you never know where this opportunity will take you,” said Rumana Dhakal, one of the seniors who matched.

Questbridge is a nonprofit organization that partners with over fifty selective private universities to match them with low-income students in their National College Match program. 

“It is a very selective scholarship program that provides full four-year scholarship, paying tuition and the full cost of living to high performing low-income students,” said Kelly Clancey, a counselor at NP3.

Students first apply to become Questbridge finalists. Once notified of finalist status, students are given the option to rank up to 15 universities on their National College Match list. Then, students submit supplemental materials personalized for each college they ranked. Finally, if they are accepted, their attendance at that university is binding (except MIT) and they gain an early,binding-decision full-ride scholarship.

If the student is not matched to any of the universities they ranked, they have a second chance and can apply through Questbridge regular-decision. Being accepted into a college through regular decision can provide close to a full-ride scholarship.

To qualify for the Questbridge process, students must come from a household earning less than $65,000 annually for a household of four. This is subject to change based on family size, financial hardships, qualifications for free or reduced school lunches, or minimal assets.

Students who wish to apply for the National College Match must submit applications by Sep. 26, 2025. It is recommended that applicants start their application a month or two in advance to create well written essays and submit recommendation letters.

Additionally, juniors can apply to become a Questbridge College Prep Scholar. Being a College Prep Scholar can provide students with an head start on college applications, resources to help guide students, access to fully paid summer programs at various universities, scholarships, admission conferences, and even a free laptop. Juniors who wish to apply must submit their applications by Mar. 20, 2025.

According to the Questbridge website, “College Prep Scholars are almost six times more likely than other applicants to receive full four-year scholarships through the National College Match.”

As a junior, Dhakal was accepted into the College Prep Scholars Program.

“I was invited to a Questbridge Conference held at Stanford University, where I got to meet the founders of Questbridge, connect with representatives from all fifty-two partner schools, and gain early access to the National College Match prompts,” she explained.

In addition to Quesbridge, Clancey said, “a good percentage of scholarships are open in January and are due around March. Students should apply to multiple scholarships, need-based and non need-based alike to increase their chances.”

For more information on Questbridge please contact [email protected] or visit https://www.questbridge.org/. Other scholarship information can be found at NP3’s website under the counseling tab or the Dollars for Scholars classroom stream.