Rice celebrates 20-year partnership with QuestBridge

By Karen Martinez Fernandez     10/25/23 12:05am

QuestBridge celebrated its 20-year anniversary of partnership with Rice Oct. 11. Founded in 1994 in California as a non-profit, the organization said it aims to support exceptional youth from low income backgrounds in their college preparatory journeys. 

Partner institutions include Rice, Stanford University, John Hopkins University and many other top-ranked institutions. QuestBridge has said that many qualified first generation low-income students otherwise do not apply to selective colleges.

Jorge Gómez Fernández, the assistant director of the Rice Emerging Scholars Program, said QuestBridge and Rice’s values of community engagement and providing financial aid support align.

---

---

“Rice’s sense of student autonomy and its emphasis on making a positive impact through an individual’s civic responsibilities overlaps with QuestBridge’s core value of civic and community engagement,” Gómez said.

QuestBridge reports that over 96,000 students are served by its programs, in addition to the 12,000 QuestBridge Scholars that matched to a college partnership with a four-year full ride scholarship.

The QuestBridge application is free and not college-specific. After an initial submission to QuestBridge in September, high school students can rank up to 15 “college partners.” Then, when finalists are notified, they have two weeks to write supplemental essays for each potential college.

According to McMurtry College sophomore Brandon Nunez, he felt the QuestBridge application process decreased the stress of college applications and made them more accessible.

“The QuestBridge application felt really manageable as a high school student,” Nunez said.

Nunez said while applying to colleges, first-generation low-income students can face financial barriers such as application fees and time constraints to write specific supplemental essays. These can impact what colleges and how many institutions students apply to.

Although the binding matching process can be stressful, a common sentiment across finalists was that thorough conversation with counselors and family assured them of their intentional decisions on ranking.

Baker College freshman Asianna Junge said that Rice’s status as a QuestBridge partner impacted her college decision and, ultimately, matching with the college. 

Likewise, Jones College freshman Rachel Parr said that since Rice was one of the first QuestBridge partners, it was high on her match list. 

“Looking at the packages offered by different QuestBridge partner schools, Rice had one of the most comprehensive scholarship packages … that was really reassuring to me,” Parr said.

Parr added that it is important to feel supported not only financially, but by the community and resources at Rice.

“No matter how my situation changes, the university is committed to meeting my needs, especially through things like the Access and Opportunity Portal,” Parr said. “Knowing these [resources] exist has been incredibly reassuring to me.”

According to Gómez, investment in these resources is crucial, but work to support FGLI students needs to continue.

“It is one thing to remove the first accessibility gate for FGLI students at Rice, which QuestBridge does, but the institution then also holds some responsibility in ensuring that a QuestBridge student, or, more broadly, any FGLI student is able to persist in their degree as well,” Gómez said.

Earlier this year, Rice created the Owl Access program to welcome new students to Rice a week prior to Orientation Week. Both Junge and Parr, who participated in the program, mentioned the positive impact the program had for them coming into Rice.

“I was honestly shocked that it was the first year that [Rice] had done [the program] because I couldn’t imagine going through O-Week, or even being on campus, and not already having that foundation of students that I knew were going through the same troubles and changes as me,” Junge said.

“Knowing that no matter how busy I get, I will have those people to fall back on … is something that has been really important to me this year,” Parr said.

Student Success Initiatives holds different social events for FGLI students, such as a picnic Oct. 16, where students can bond and get to know each other. 

In addition to the FGLI community, the Rice QuestBridge Students Network Chapter aims to continue supporting QuestBridge scholars, according to Gómez.

Founded in 2003, the Rice QuestBridge Students Network Chapter has worked with various on and off-campus groups to extend resources to scholars, such as SSI, Generation College and the Center for Career Development, according to the QuestBridge website. 

Junge said she believes the Rice QuestBridge community has impacted her and fellow freshmen alike because of the reassurance they provide.

“In the beginning of the year, we had a QuestBridge dinner,” Junge said. “It was very casual, and they were very open about the social events that they do, and … reinforcing the idea that you deserve to be here, which I think is something that a lot of students struggle with, whether they are FGLI students or not, or QuestBridge or not.”

Gómez said QuestBridge gathers exceptionally talented and motivated students from limited-income backgrounds. The integration of QuestBridge scholars contributes to a vibrant and intellectually-stimulating campus.

“Their perspectives, stories, and experiences enrich campus culture by bringing depth to the broader learning environment at Rice. QuestBridge not only selects students on their academic achievement, but their potential as well,” Gómez said.

“Being a ‘Questee’ and being an FGLI student doesn’t define me here,” Nunez added. “But it’s an important part of how I ended up here.”

[10/25/2023 3:03 p.m.] Harvard University is not a QuestBridge partner institution. This article has been corrected.

---