Harvard has officially joined the ranks of the rest of the Ivy League schools participating in QuestBridge’s National College Match (NCM). Harvard’s class of 2030, current juniors, will be able to apply through QuestBridge’s NCM as early as the fall of this year. Though not surprising, this move marks yet another important moment in Harvard’s continued effort in widening access to its world-class education.
What is QuestBridge?
QuestBridge is a nonprofit organization connecting high-achieving, low-income high school seniors with top U.S. colleges. Founded in 1994 by Ana Rowena Mallari and Dr. Michael McCullough at Stanford, it began as a summer program for gifted students from underserved backgrounds and grew into the National College Match (NCM), a network of over 50 partner colleges committed to providing quality education to low-income students.
Eligible applicants include high school seniors, regardless of citizenship, attending school in the U.S. and U.S. citizens/permanent residents abroad. Typical NCM finalists have strong grades in challenging courses and typically come from households earning under $65,000 annually for a family of four. Applications for the NCM open from late July through early October and require materials like recommendation letters and report cards quite similar to those required by normal college or scholarship applications. But one unique aspect of the application, however, is the ranked list, where applicants rank up to 15 colleges in order of their preference. Finalists for NCM are then “matched” with (considered admission by) every school from their list. The highest school on the list that matches will offer a binding admission and a full scholarship covering tuition, housing, food, supplies, and travel for all four years. Match results are released on December 2. Even if not matched, applicants can still apply to colleges through regular decision. In 2024, 2,627 students matched with a college, bringing the total number of matched finalists since QuestBridge’s inception to a staggering 17,000.
As QuestBridge states, their vision is “[to create] a more equitable society where every student can dream big, reach their potential, contribute to the world, and build a life they love.” For many, QuestBridge is a lifeline, offering support and opportunities that break financial barriers and provide access to life-changing educational opportunities. By connecting talented, low-income students with prestigious universities, QuestBridge unlocks the doors to life-changing opportunities that might never have been open.
Harvard
After Cornell partnered with QuestBridge more than a year ago from this day, Harvard became the only Ivy League institution not participating in the QuestBridge network. Former Harvard Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons reveals why in a 2008 interview. Fitzsimmons explains that the university’s own extensive outreach programs, aimed at attracting low-income students, were already quite sufficient and that Harvard had already reached a maximum with its outreach and has already attracted a “very, very strong applicant pool.”
Per recent events, Harvard has evidently changed their mind. With Harvard and two other schools, Bates College and University of Richmond, partnering with QuestBridge, Questbridge’s NCM program now presents prospective applicants a total of 55 colleges including the entire the Ivy League; liberal arts colleges like Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, etc.; and other renowned schools like MIT, Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Caltech, UChicago, Johns Hopkins, and so many more.
As Fitzsimmons puts it in a statement from last week, “[w]e look forward to working together to attract the nation’s brightest students from low-income backgrounds and enhancing our efforts to provide educational opportunities to talented students everywhere.”
Ana Rowena Mallari, QuestBridge’s co-founder and CEO, also expressed a similar sentiment, writing that “we are delighted that Harvard College has joined the QuestBridge partnership.” Mallari specifically notes Harvard’s dedication to the liberal arts and sciences and calls it an “excellent place for [QuestBridge] scholars to call home.”
Former Harvard Director of Financial Aid Jake Kaufmann also gives his support, writing that Harvard’s generous financial support allows any talented student who is admitted to attend, and its new relationship with QuestBridge “greatly expands [Harvard’s] reach around the country.”
All in all, it is clear that Harvard joining QuestBridge is a big win for low-income students, giving them even more access to top-tier education with a full ride. Harvard’s partnership with QuestBridge represents a great step forward in making itself and other top schools more accessible to bright, talented students, no matter their financial background.
Written by Andy Qi
