QuestBridge is a program, whose mission is to connect talented high school students coming from low-income backgrounds or first-generation college students, those who will be the first in their family to attend college, with some of the best colleges in the nation. Yale, Brown University, California Institute of Technology, and Harvard are among the 45 colleges partnered with QuestBridge.  Approximately 30,000 talented low-income students nationally are academically qualified to attend the nation’s best colleges, but the majority of them don’t even apply to one selective college, whether this be because of costs, lack of resources, or other limiting circumstances.

Senior Grayson Catlett was matched with the University of Pennsylvania, and it will cost him almost nothing to attend.

“It was a little bit overwhelming, being my introduction to college applications, but I managed to get through all of it and it absolutely paid off. I’m so thankful for all of the staff that were able to help, as well as my family,” Grayson shared about his experience with QuestBridge and getting a scholarship.

Grayson had to apply to the QuestBridge scholars program before applying to the scholarship. It is similar to other scholarship applications. There were no financial or academic requirements since it means to focus on high-performing students from low-income homes.

“Grayson is an outstanding individual. He set his goals high for his senior year. I [am] so proud of his hard work and determination. Balancing school, a job, and family is not an easy task, then to [throw in QuestBridge] responsibilities. Quest[Bridge] is not an easy path to choose and requires a lot of extra time and work in an already crazy packed schedule,” shared Angie Hentz, gifted teacher.

Both Catlett and Hentz recommend QuestBridge to upcoming juniors. The application opens to high school Juniors and is due towards the end of March.  The deadline for the class of 2022’s applications passed on March 24.

The Central Digest is proud of all of Grayson’s accomplishments, and we wish him well in his future endeavors.