Four Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students were selected for a QuestBridge National College Scholarship Match for the 2021 cycle.
Seniors Alyx Allred of Harrison, Alyssia Davis of Beebe, Meadow Kelly of Fayetteville and Joshua Stallings of Little Rock each matched with a QuestBridge partner institution and will receive a four-year full scholarship to attend those institutions.
Allred and Davis matched with Grinnell College, a private, coed, residential liberal arts and sciences college located in Grinnell, Iowa. Kelly and Stallings received offers from Rice University, a comprehensive research university in Houston, Texas.
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 45 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.
Match Scholarship Recipients are granted early admission to one of QuestBridge's college partners with a full four-year scholarship, worth over $200,000. The Match Scholarship is offered as part of a generous financial aid package provided by the college that covers the cost of attendance, including tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and travel expenses. All Match Scholarship packages have no parental contribution or student loans.
Each of the students said receiving a match serves as a relief, allowing them to focus strictly on their academic career without worries about how they would pay for it.
“My family has always struggled with money, and I knew that we weren’t going to be able to put me through college,” Kelly said. “I would be forced to take out copious amounts of student loans which would inevitably put me in lifelong debt. It’s incredible that I don’t have to be a financial burden to myself, my future partner or my family.”
Allred said receiving a match lifted a weight from her shoulders that she’s had since she was a child.
“Growing up, my mother always prioritized education, as she knew my siblings and I would not have the same opportunities as wealthier students without great academic achievement. To me, being matched means seeing my lifelong efforts come to fruition. As someone who plans to attend medical school, getting a head start at a top college and not having to worry financially about paying for it means the world to me,” Allred said.
Some of the matches require students to work a certain amount of work-study hours to help pay for the tuition costs. Davis said that she was fine with that since it means financial savings in the long run.
“I won’t have to have nightmares anymore about paying for college because while I still have to work at least I am working towards an attainable amount instead of putting only a little dent in my tuition,” Davis said. “It means I have a chance of going to a great grad school without any debt if I can help it. It makes me feel so happy. All I want to do is to be able to learn and do research.”
Stallings said the entire cost of his matching institution is covered by grants at Rice, which means he isn’t required to have a work-study job as part of his scholarship.
“This opportunity is great because it opens a door for me that simply wouldn’t be possible otherwise, and it’s even better because I won’t have to worry about any student loans after I graduate college,” Stallings said.
ASMSA had 11 students selected as finalists this year. QuestBridge lets previously selected finalists know whether they received a match on Dec. 1. The students said the day was a mix of anticipation, stress and joy.
“I was sitting in my room after lunch working on a physics paper,” said Stallings, who plans to major in either computer science or mechanical engineering with a focus on aerospace. “I checked my phone and saw another QB finalist I know message me ‘It’s out.’ I scrambled to check the website, and when I found out I matched with Rice, the first thing did was run down to my (Student Success Coordinator’s) office and tell him I was going to Rice.”
Davis, who plans to major in physics and mathematics, said she found out around 3 p.m. that day when she finished a class. “I started crying out of happiness and called my brother first to tell him the news,” Davis said.
Allred said she received notice of an application update in the middle of a class but waited to open it with friends. “They all knew what a big deal it was, and whenever I opened it, we all started screaming and jumping around,” said Allred, who plans to major in biology with a concentration in East Asian Studies. “Whenever we I opened it, we all started screaming and jumping around. Even though it was for them, they were just as excited as I was, though they weren’t crying like me.”
Kelly plans to pursue a degree in general mathematics with a minor in computer science applications. “I had been obsessively checking both my email and the QuestBridge website, so I saw that my status had been updated on the website a good 10 minutes before I got the email. I freaked out, literally running around my room,” Kelly said.
To learn more about the QuestBridge National College Match program, visit https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match.