Thirteen Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts seniors have been selected as QuestBridge National College Match Finalists.
QuestBridge is a nonprofit organization that connects exceptional low-income youth with leading institutions of higher education. QuestBridge works with top universities across the country to offer four-year, full scholarships to deserving students who may otherwise be unable to afford to attend those institutions.
QuestBridge partnered this year with 42 colleges and universities to offer scholarships at institutions such as Duke University, Rice University, Stanford University and others.
Students apply for the scholarships through the Common Application, which is used by many educational institutions for admission. QuestBridge applicants write an essay to accompany the application. They may list up to 12 of the partner schools at which they would like to be considered for admission.
Students who were selected as Finalists include Nova Ammerman of Cherokee Village, Kaletra Arnold of Searcy, Gabriel Bissland of Lonoke, Jeremy Della of Ozark, Andrea Golden of Barling, Aviance Haymon of Osceola, Brayden Ireland of Harrison, Callie Johnson of Delight, Annette Perez of Searcy, Alyssa Richey Powhatan, Joseph Thomas of Hot Springs, Kenny Ventress of Benton and Tracy Yang of Marianna.
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Finalists who receive a match will be notified on Dec. 1. Finalists who do not receive a match for a scholarship will still be eligible to be considered for regular admission to partner schools and may still receive financial aid in the future.
In 2020, QuestBridge received more than 18,000 applications. Roughly more than a third of those students were named Finalists. About 76 percent of the finalist would be a first-generation student at a four-year college, and 93 percent of the Finalists have a household income of less than $65,000 a year. About 84 percent of the national Finalists are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
For more information about the organization, visit www.questbridge.org.