Hamilton College’s QuestBridge scholars and members of the Hamilton community gathered to celebrate National Quest Day on Nov. 15. According to the QuestBridge organization, this day allows the community to “reflect on [one’s own] identity and celebrate all things QuestBridge.” Across the country, QuestBridge scholars celebrated the opportunities that the program has provided. Hamilton QuestBridge scholars showed off their “QuestBridge spirit” as they hosted a “Throwback party,” which honored the past 25 years of the program.
Sadove basement buzzed with a variety of music and fun video games to entertain attending students, and students commemorated the anniversary party with a polaroid from the photo booth.
Mason Schroeder ’23, a part of the Questbridge E-Board, shed some light on the general feel of the event.
“People seemed to be having fun,” Schroeder said. “It was a pretty upbeat environment. Lots of pictures were taken. I think we ran out of film in the end.”
Overall, the event was described as a “very chill and fun time.”
For those unfamiliar with Questbridge as a whole, the program can be compared to a scholarship program such as the National Honor Society or the Ron Brown Scholars organization. QuestBridge is a non-profit program that links students with educational and scholarship opportunities at some U.S. colleges and universities. Unlike other scholarship programs that only offer tuition aid, QuestBridge matches the “nation’s most exceptional, low-income youth with top colleges all over the U.S.” In addition to its national college match service, QuestBridge also offers a college prep scholars program. This program provides awards and opportunities that give outstanding low-income high school juniors an early advantage in college admissions.
To apply, students submit their applications, then rank up to 12 college partners they are seeking to gain admittance to. Finalists are selected and notified by Oct. 16th. On Dec. 2nd, the finalists find out to which schools they have been matched. If matched, the finalists are admitted early with a full 4-year scholarship to the institution of their choice. If they do not end up getting matched during early decision, students can apply through the QuestBridge regular decision program and still be eligible for admission and financial aid. After the students are matched and accepted into college, Questbridge continues to support participants.
