The 40 Questbridge Partners

What is Questbridge?

The QuestBridge National College Match is a college and scholarship application process that helps outstanding low-income high school seniors gain admission and full four-year scholarships to the nation's most selective colleges.

If you are a student who has achieved academic excellence in the face of economic challenges, we encourage you to apply. QuestBridge's college partners are committed to making college affordable for all students — regardless of financial background — and offer generous financial aid packages that cover 100% of demonstrated financial need.

To learn more visit the Questbridge website: https://www.questbridge.org

Who are the Questbridge college partners?

40 of the top universities in the country.

20 are research universities, 20 are liberal arts colleges

What is a research university?

A research university is an institution that includes both undergraduate & graduate students and has a focus on both educating undergraduate students & doing cutting edge research with its professors & graduate students. Though exceptions exist, most elite research universities are medium or large in size, private, and are made of up of between 30-70% undergraduate students.

What is a liberal arts college?

In comparison, liberal arts colleges are institutions that are completely are nearly completely focused on the undergraduate education. They are small institutions usually ranging from just 1000-3000 students that are focused on the undergraduate experience & education. Size and undergraduate focus are the two areas that set research universities & liberal arts colleges apart.

Size & Location

The QB Liberal Arts Colleges

As you can see, most liberal arts colleges are small-- between 1000-2000 students. Half of them are also located in rural areas, though there are colleges outside Los Angeles, Boston, and Philadelphia.

The QB National Universities

In contrast, most national universities have between 4K and 10K undergraduate students. Some, like Columbia, USC, UPenn, and UVA, the only public QB member, have more than 20K total students. The majority of national universities are located in or close to major cities, another big draw for many students.

Selectivity & Financial Aid

A Note about selectivity

Questbridge partners with 40 of the top universities in America. Some of are better known than others, but all offer an amazing education. Don't just focus on the ones you know-- do your research on each of them.

At the end of the day, if you get matched, you'll get a full ride to one of the top colleges in the U.S!

The 4 non-binding partners

Questbridge is a binding application. If you get the scholarship, then you have to attend the school where you "match." The only exceptions are Stanford, Yale, Princeton, & MIT. These are the non-binding QB members-- if you match with one of these schools then the scholarship is non-binding. You can decide to give up the scholarship and attend another school.

Common Questbridge Strategies to Avoid

Students are often afraid of listing colleges on Questbridge because of the binding aspect of the Match. They don't want to get "stuck" at a college that they don't want to attend.

1. Applying only to the 4 non-binding members (MIT, Yale, Stanford, Princeton)

2. Applying to the 4 non-binding members + their dream school.

3. Applying to only a couple Questbridge partners.

These strategies are usually unsuccessful because so many students do this, it strongly decreases the chance that you will be matched. If you really have your heart set on just one college, we advise not doing Questbridge and applying to that Early Decision.

Remember that all QB colleges are great schools. Do your research and fill your list of between 6-12 colleges for the best chance of being matched!

Diversity and Student Body

Economic Diversity

Racial Diversity

Academic Majors

Biological Sciences

Physical Sciences

Mathematics & Stats

Computer Science

Engineering

Social Sciences

Visual & Performing Arts

Business & Economics

Humanities

Professional Programs

Not all universities have undergraduate degrees in many professional fields. However, that doesn't mean that you can't go into fields like education, health, or agriculture with a degree from any of these elite colleges! You can study the subject like biology or chemistry for health or English for communication and either learn on the job or get a graduate degree in the more specific graduate field.

Education

Natural Resources

Architecture

Public Admin & Social Services

Communications

Health

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