Angelica Lorenzo and Diana Morales
Crimson Chronicle Reporters
Four-year full-ride scholarships were given to two seniors by Questbridge on Dec. 1. Axel Brito got into Brown University and Giovanni Maya got into the University of Chicago.
Questbridge is a nonprofit organization that provides higher education to low-income and first-gen students. Students apply the summer before their senior year and fill out the National College Match application. Afterward, all eligible students fill out the Match Rankings Form and if they come out a finalist, they submit Match Requirements for each college. Match Day, taking place on Dec. 1, is the day students find out if they’re getting the four-year full-ride scholarship. If they don’t match, they can still try for regular decisions; luckily for the seniors, they were able to get in on Match Day. They made it sound easy but out of the 16,500 applicants, only 6,312 are selected as National College Match Finalists.
“My Questbridge experience was actually like a rollercoaster and you know what, I applaud myself, sometimes I feel like I don’t give myself enough credit,” said Giovanni Maya, one senior who got the scholarship.
What do you plan to major and minor in?
Axel: I chose my major in Political Science with a minor in English.
Giovanni: I didn’t minor in anything but I want to major in Computer Science.
Were they your first choice?
Axel: No, it was my fourth choice out of 12.
Giovanni: Yes, they were.
What was your reaction to getting in? Where were you?
Axel: I was pleasantly surprised, more so alleviated, not having to worry about financial strain. I was in journalism class and I just finished writing something and I was constantly checking my email all day, and then I checked it during class and I was very shocked.
Giovanni: I was doing the PA announcements and I walked out and I was checking my emails all day because I was nervous and saw the notifications of an update on the page. I turned back and went to the College Center and I opened up my computer and I was shaky opening it. I didn’t care what schools I got into because I chose all the schools that I wanted to go into. I called my brother who has been supporting me through my essay and told my counselors that I got into [UChicago]. I was more than excited and speechless and I couldn’t believe it.
How many schools did you rank?
Axel: I ranked 12 schools. Which schools? I don’t know.
Giovanni: I ranked all 12 schools.
Did the match requirements take long?
Axel: I mean I finished them all the day they were due so it took around a day. I feel that’s quite long, had I actually sorted it out it would’ve taken a couple of hours or something.
Giovanni: It didn’t take long because last year, I had done the other Questbridge program called College Prep Scholars and I got into that one and a lot of the essays I just transferred over. I ended up doing it over the weekend, the whole thing, and ended up submitting two days before it was due.
When did you know you had the chance to get a scholarship to the college you got into?
Axel: I just didn’t, they just told me oh yeah, Brown matched with you.
Since you’re moving out of state will there be any complications? Will you be working when you’re in college?
Axel: Actually yeah, I’m going to have to leave behind all of my, most of my technology and my computer I built, that’s going to suck the most. So we’d definitely have to buy a lot of new stuff. I will definitely be working there.
Giovanni: I don’t expect to be working, I feel like that’s just a time for me to focus on my education. The only complications probably could be my heart problems. I have medical problems so maybe seeing how that whole thing transfers with the health insurance. I’m just excited to go to a new city to meet new people and stuff.
Do you know the amount you’re going to get on your scholarship?
Axel: So far it’s not set in stone but from what I read, it’s around $77,000 a year (Brown’s annual tuition is $60,696). And like, they also put this thing where it’s like, there are some things they don’t cover.
Giovanni: No, not yet I haven’t gotten my financial aid letter, I’m just waiting on that (UChicago’s annual tuition is $59,298). Either this week or the following week.
Would you recommend upcoming seniors to do the Questbridge scholarship?
Giovanni: 100 percent. I would say there’s a lot of opportunities out there even if you don’t match into Questbridge. I think we fall into the trap of just looking at prestigious schools, so I always recommend upcoming seniors to do their research and to just see what’s the best fit for them.
And overall, how difficult was the whole application process for you?
Axel: Honestly, it was pretty, it was pretty simple. The only hard part was getting the counselor[‘s recommendation] since our school is a bit hectic with that especially at the time because my counselor had just left.
Giovanni: I would say I had a lot of times where I felt like I didn’t want to do the essays and that’s just me being completely honest. I had a lot of stuff come up during that time but, you know, as cliche as it is, hard work does pay off.