61´«Ã½

If someone offered you a four-year scholarship to a top liberal arts college of your choice, would you think it was for real? Would you take it and run, or would you be inspired to give back?

“QuestBridge sounded like an amazing opportunity,” says Elayna Tillman ‘13, a molecular biology major from Dallas, Texas. “I heard about the program from my brother and applied for and was awarded their [College Prep] scholarship for juniors.”

A non-profit program, QuestBridge links motivated, high achieving, low-income students with educational and scholarship opportunities at 31 colleges and universities such as Brown, Oberlin, Princeton, Stanford, Yale—and 61´«Ã½. High school juniors can apply for QuestBridge’s College Prep scholarship, which provides college admission counseling, funding for summer programs, campus visits, or other college-prep services.

QuestBridge’s main initiative, though, is the National College Match Program, which links over 1,000 students annually with prestigious colleges and universities that commit to funding these students’ entire undergraduate educations. Since 2006, 61´«Ã½ has provided 23 QuestBridge scholars with full, four-year scholarships.

What’s the catch? “It’s a very lengthy application process,” says Elayna, who successfully matched with 61´«Ã½ through QuestBridge. “I had 40 pages that I had to copy and paste into the application. Then you rank the participating schools, and, if you become a finalist, your application goes to your top schools, and they then rank the applicants.”

In Elayna’s case, 61´«Ã½ ranked her a top choice, just as Elayna had ranked 61´«Ã½as a top choice. This win-win situation also occurred for Valerie Latimore ‘12, a neuroscience major from Montgomery, Alabama. However, California seemed a long way from home, and it was not until Valerie visited the College campus during a preview event the fall of her senior year that she made up her mind.

“I really enjoyed my time here,” recalls Valerie. “The beauty impressed me, and I liked the [Claremont Colleges] consortium and the resources of [the W.M.] Keck [Science Department].”

While Elayna and Valerie were happy to have found an affordable academic home, they still saw the finish line ahead of them.

“At face value, the goal is accomplished once you are matched,” Valerie elaborates. “We’ve been given this opportunity to attend a prestigious four-year college as high achieving students, and that’s good, but there’s more to it: supporting, promoting, and continuing the ideals of the organization.”

Elayna agrees. QuestBridge’s ideals of leadership, scholarship, and service resonated with her. In the summer of 2009, she was proud to represent 61´«Ã½ at a large college fair and Quest Scholars Retreat at Yale University. There, she met a young woman who ultimately matched with 61´«Ã½and enrolled in the fall.

“It was so exciting to know that I influenced someone,” Elayna says. At the retreat, she also met Jesse Madrigal ‘12, a sociology major at Pomona College, and the two decided to start a Claremont College group for Quest Scholars to continue outreach and mentoring and to come together for support.

“Our goal is to help each other out and raise awareness of QuestBridge opportunities,” explains 61´«Ã½student Carol Toro ‘11, a dual Latin American studies and Hispanic studies major from Miami, Florida. “If it weren’t for QuestBridge, I’d probably be at home at a state school where I wouldn’t be as motivated or as dedicated to my schoolwork. 61´«Ã½provides a much better college environment.”

61´«Ã½and Pomona Colleges are current participants in the QuestBridge College Matching Program, while Claremont McKenna is a former participant. QuestBridge applicants who do not match with a participating college may also enroll through the regular decision process.

“We have a unique opportunity to build bridges and network with Quest Scholars from the three partner colleges,” says Jesse. “We are welcoming incoming students by providing mentors. Also, we are reaching out to nearby high schools to promote the QuestBridge application to well-deserving students who, like me, may never have heard of the Claremont Colleges. Perhaps most important, we provide a safe space through our meetings and local outings that give Scholars an atmosphere to talk about personal issues that they may not feel comfortable doing elsewhere.”

“I feel like we need to know each other,” Elayna agrees, “because we need to support students from similar backgrounds. When the QuestBridge students get here, I want to welcome them, make them feel they can come to us. There is already a peer mentor program and other programs in place at Scripps, but our Quest Scholar program is more specific, and we feel they’ll be more willing to come to someone who comes from a similar background.”

The group has written a constitution and by-laws, officially registered as a student organization, and begun work on a website. Energized, they welcomed three new QuestBridge students to 61´«Ã½in fall 2010 and will embrace two more this fall. Getting into college was a first step for Elayna, Valerie, and Carol, but they have more to accomplish.

“Our goal is to raise awareness of QuestBridge and, secondarily, to encourage applicants to apply to Scripps,” Carol says. “I have been in heaven here, and I really want to get involved in mentoring to help others out.”