Two students are getting the spotlight for receiving a full ride to college thanks to a nonprofit’s scholarship program.
Danny Huynh of Euless, Texas, and Sophia Morales of Carrollton, Georgia, are just two of 2,242 students about to go to college without ending up in debt, thanks to a nationwide initiative by QuestBridge.
The California-based nonprofit partners with higher education institutions to help low-income and first-generation college students showing academic aptitude fund their four-year degrees.
To apply for one of the scholarships worth around $200,000, students must fill out the free National College Match application and select up to 15 of QuestBridge’s 50 partnering institutions they would like to attend, which include some Ivy League schools like Princeton, Yale, and Stanford.
Applicant finalists are then selected based on their academic merit and socioeconomic eligibility, and their applications are sent to the partnering institutions they chose. If an institution decides to enroll an applicant, a “match” occurs, and the scholarship award — funded by private donors — is given.
A total of 20,800 students applied for a QuestBridge College Match award this year. Of the 2,242 QuestBridge Match Scholars chosen, a whopping 93% were at the top of their graduating classes, and 82% will be the first in their families to attend university.
With the cost of higher education reaching record highs this past year, the promise of a full ride can be a great relief.
“We didn’t have a college fund growing up. I mean, I guess you could say the shoe box in my closet was a college fund. But let’s be realistic, it’s not really anything much,” explained Huynh, a student at Harmony School Innovation in Euless, according to NBC 5 DFW. As a QuestBridge Match Scholar, he will study nursing at the University of Pennsylvania.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I can’t just pass up on that,” he added.
Fellow North Texas student and award recipient Morales, a student at Carrollton High School, will study education and mathematics at Washington and Lee University.
“I am incredibly grateful for this scholarship, as it relieves the financial strain on my family and me,” said Morales, according to The City Menus. “It recognizes the efforts I’ve invested in my education and reflects the continuous support from my parents.”
This year QuestBridge awarded a record-breaking number of grants — a 28% bump from the year prior.
“We are thrilled to welcome this historic number of QuestBridge Scholars,” said Ana Rowena Mallari, co-founder and CEO of QuestBridge, in a press release. “These Scholars will bring a depth of thought and range of experiences to our college partner campuses that will surely enrich their new communities.”
Meanwhile, in Dallas ISD, district officials still struggle to provide students with a quality education. According to a report by the Texas Education Agency, the district underperformed across several metrics during the 2021-2022 school year. Only 41% of students scored at grade level on their STAAR exams despite the hard work of the district’s dedicated teachers, and almost 20% of Dallas ISD’s graduating Class of 2022 did not earn a diploma in four years.