lsjny09, by all means apply to Stanford. The QB app is designed to allow you to explain difficult life circumstances. Your guidance counselor can also address them in his or her recommendation letter. Stanford is very committed to holistic application consideration. Looking through last years Stanford's results threads will show that clearly. At the same time, you, like all QB applicants, should be applying for some safety schools where you should be accepted and can afford to go.
On to Financial Aid...
First of all, as of today the College Match Scholarship Package pages for each school haven't been updated yet for this year's Match process. You will want to read the pages for current info when possible. I can't overemphasize the importance of doing so.
FA gets confusing. It really helps to read every single thing you can on the QB website for the schools in which you are interested. QB provides a screened pool of low-income applicants to the colleges. The colleges can each set their own parameters of what qualifications they will look for within this pool. This *can* include income parameters, but doesn't have to. Many schools may choose to limit the actual College Match to students they feel will have a $0 EFC AS DETERMINED BY THE SCHOOL for all four years. For example, read last year's Yale's QB Match page:
"Yale will only offer admission through the National College Match to students whose parents qualify to make zero contribution to college costs. (Students who are not eligible for a zero parent contribution will be considered for admission to Yale in regular decision and will still qualify for extremely generous aid calculated to meet full financial need, with no loans required.)"
However, Yale is very generous in determining this parental zero contribution:
"For families with total income less than $60,000 per year, Yale typically does not ask parents to make any contribution whatever toward the cost of a Yale education. In assessing need, Yale does consider family assets, business ownership and other special circumstances in addition to annual income."
Having a $0 parental contribution for schools is not necessarily the same as qualifying for a $0 EFC on FAFSA.
As of last year, Stanford, Princeton and Yale offered QB College Match students and QB Regular Decision students the same generous FA package that they would receive if applying without being part of QB. Most likely they will continue to do so this year. I think Penn does a great job of explaining their policy for Match students on the Penn College Match scholarship page (
Partner School: University of Pennsylvania - 2009 College Match Scholarship Package)
"Because family situations can often change significantly from year to year, Penn normally re-determines a student's expected family contribution each year. For that reason, QuestBridge students will generally be considered for a four-year Match Scholarship only in those cases where the expected parent contribution is $0, and it appears unlikely that it will change over time. The only change in the Match Scholars expected contribution over their four years will be an annual increase (no more than $100) in the Federal Work-Study component. "
Unusual Circumstances or Incomes in the Higher QB Range
One of the great things about QB is that it takes into account special circumstances that impact a family's finances. If you look at the stats regarding College Match recipients (
National College Match Program: 2008 College Match Recipient Profile) you will see 5% had household incomes above $60,000. My guess is that this group includes at least some students with unusual circumstances.
My hunch is not a lot of families in the applicant pool fall into this category, but wanted to draw attention to it for those that do. If your family falls into this category I'd use some caution in picking QB schools to which to apply for the College Match portion of the program. Specifically, I'd ask Columbia and Emory if they can provide a FA estimated package prior to applying for a Match to these schools. The two schools are binding, but they don't necessarily guarantee your parents will pay nothing. Following is the info posted for these schools for last year's Match. The info for this year has not been updated; please check all schools carefully when available!
From the QB Columbia College Match page (
Partner School: Columbia University - 2008 College Match Scholarship Package)
"The QuestBridge College Match Scholarship will look like the package below. Students from families with total earned income less than $60,000 per year, typical assets ($250,000 or less) and straightforward financial situations who are admitted through early or regular decision will be offered similar financial aid packages. The difference for students from families with slightly higher income or with significant assets would be an increased family contribution based on the financial situation.
PLEASE NOTE: Columbia will re-evaluate each student's eligibility for financial aid each year; Columbia QuestBridge Match Scholars will need to submit updated financial information, and financial aid awards will reflect any changes in financial circumstances."
From Emory: (
Partner School: Emory University - 2009 College Match Scholarship Package)
"Emory is committed to awarding aid based on financial need determined by a thorough review of each family's circumstances. Financial need is assessed using institutional methodology and the 568 Consensus Approach. Education is the primary responsibility of the student and family. Emory will award financial aid to supplement, not replace, the family's ability to pay. Our goal is to assist as many families as possible in a fair and equitable manner while meeting demonstrated need. Aid packages must be renewed every year....
QuestBridge College Match Scholars and students from families with total incomes less than $50,000 and little to no assets can expect a financial aid package that looks like the package below. Families with higher incomes and assets may see slightly different results."
That "little to no assets" provision of Emory's seems to me like something that many home-owing families would exceed. Personally, I as a parent wouldn't want my child to lock themselves into attending a school which may require me to pay something. I would want my family to have the freedom to compare FA offers during Regular Decision. So, just be aware this can be an issue. Again, I want to emphasize this is based upon last year's info and things could change for this year.
Outside Scholarships
The College Match Package pages for each school discusses how these are treated. I think each school allows you to apply these to the student summer work portion and term-time job portion, but check the pages for details.
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