Harvard Joins QuestBridge Admissions Match Program

Harvard will join the rest of the Ivy League universities in QuestBridge’s National College Match, committing to admit QuestBridge scholars early with full scholarships, the company announced on Thursday.

The Harvard Class of 2030 will be the first class able to apply under QuestBridge’s National College Match Program this fall.

QuestBridge is a national nonprofit that runs a national college match program for low-income college applicants. More than 52 of the nation’s top colleges participate in the program, including the Ivy League and institutions such as MIT, Stanford, and Duke.

Qualifying students — “typically from a household earning less than $65,000 annually” — who successfully match with a participating college are given a four-year scholarship to attend the school. Since 2004, more than 40,000 Questbridge scholars have been awarded more than $5 billion in scholarships, according to the program’s website.

“We 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,” Harvard Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons ’67 wrote in a Thursday statement.

Harvard is one of three schools — including Bates College and the University of Richmond — newly partnering with QuestBridge this year.

Each year, National College Match applicants may rank up to 15 schools to apply to. They are automatically matched with the highest ranked school that accepts them. The acceptance is a binding decision for all schools except MIT.

Ana Rowena Mallari, the co-founder and CEO of QuestBridge, wrote in a statement that “we are delighted that Harvard College has joined the QuestBridge partnership.”

“A campus dedicated to the power of a liberal arts and sciences education that strives to educate citizen-leaders is an excellent place for our Scholars to call home,” Mallari added.

Harvard previously declined to participate in the College Match program due to its existing outreach programs to low-income students, according to a 2008 interview with Fitzsimmons.

Harvard has been a member of the Small Town Outreach, Recruitment, and Yield Program since 2023. The Admissions and Financial Aid Office is also home to student-staffed groups, like the Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program, that conduct outreach to high school students.

Under Harvard’s current financial aid policy, families with incomes less than $85,000 are expected to pay nothing for their education. According to the financial aid website, 25 percent of Harvard students pay nothing for their undergraduate education.

Director of Financial Aid Jake Kaufmann ’93 wrote in a statement that “Harvard's world-class financial aid allows any talented student to attend, if admitted, and our relationship with QuestBridge greatly expands our reach around the country.”

Correction: January 23, 2025

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program is part of the Small Town Outreach, Recruitment, and Yield Program. In fact, it is a separate program at Harvard.

—Staff writer Cassidy M. Cheng can be reached at cassidy.cheng@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cassidy_cheng28.

—Staff writer Claire T. Grumbacher can be reached at claire.grumbacher@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @clairegrumbachr.