Washington University admitted its inaugural class of matched QuestBridge scholars this year. A minimum of 30 students will arrive at the University in the fall of 2019 through the scholarship program.

QuestBridge is a national organization that connects low-income and first-generation students to 40 colleges and universities around the country. QuestBridge finalists rank participating institutions in a process similar to medical school admissions, and some finalists may then “match” with partner schools. From there, the students submit supplemental materials to their matched schools, which then pick students to admit.

The 2018-2019 admissions cycle is the first time the University has participated in this match process following their announcement in January 2018. According to Senior Associate Director of Inclusion, Access and Special Populations Valencia Jones, the partnership with QuestBridge is just one part of the University’s efforts to attract and support students from diverse backgrounds.

“I think that it just continues to aid us in moving forward and building a more robust and inclusive community,” Jones said. “I know that diversity comes in a myriad of ways, and it shows up respectively in our community, but we all know that the institution has really made it a priority to enhance socioeconomic diversity on our campus.”

According to Assistant Provost for Student Success Anthony Tillman, bringing additional QuestBridge scholars to campus next year will help the University work toward its goal of having 13 percent of the student body come from under-resourced backgroundsmeasured by Pell-grant eligibilityand will also increase the number of first-generation students.

“The majority of the students currently at Washington University are not first-gen,” Tillman said. “That’s a smaller population of the entire undergraduate population. By having QuestBridge, which is a dedicated program focused on that student demographic, it does begin to shift that data point a bit. Coming from under-resourced backgrounds also begins to shift that data point a bit.”

Students will automatically have the opportunity to join Deneb STARS, a program through the Office for Student Success that provides support to under-resourced or first-generation students. Incoming QuestBridge scholars will have access to all of that program’s resources, such as its early arrival program, a fall retreat and a peer mentoring system.

According to Coordinator for Student Success Lucy Chin, the additional QuestBridge scholars will make the incoming class of Deneb STARS its largest to date and may help draw out more conversations about socioeconomic status on campus.

“I think that issues of socioeconomic diversity are something that everyone on campus is becoming more and more attuned to, sort of with each passing semester,” Chin said. “Whether it’s QuestBridge students or students who are coming from under-resourced backgrounds that is shifting the landscape in general, I think it’s a really awesome thing that more students have access to Wash. U. and are getting the support they need to thrive.”

Though this is the first year of the University’s partnership, some QuestBridge finalists from previous years already attend Washington University. Finalists who are not matched to a college or university can choose to apply to institutions during the regular decision round. Finalists can also apply early decision without going through the match process.

According to sophomore and QuestBridge liaison Mason Simmons, because finalists can end up at schools in ways other than matching, there are at least 25 QuestBridge students from previous years on campus already. That also means that the University will likely end up with more QuestBridge finalists than the 30 matched students next year.

Simmons also said that the addition of at least 30 students in the fall will bring some changes for the current QuestBridge scholars network on campus. Roles for executive officers have been altered in order to accommodate the increase in the number of students and he said they might hold more events or implement a mentoring system.

“At an institution that does have a relatively high cost, a lot of students feel as though they are surrounded by people living expensive lives, and it’s a little bit harder to deal with sometimes,” Simmons said. “Having a community of people that understand where you’re coming from is a great resource.”

According to Tillman, the Office of Student Success has also committed part of its budget to supporting the expansion of the QuestBridge scholars network.

“I’m just really excited that we’re embarking upon this new direction with respect to our partnership with QuestBridge, which has such an incredible national reputation,” Tillman said. “I’m glad and proud and just happy that Washington University can be considered now in the same discourse as part of the national conversation about how elite, selective colleges and universities are in position to provide students opportunities to get an education from schools like Washington University.”

In the future, the University may increase the number of students it accepts through the match process, according to Jones and Tillman. Additionally, Jones said the process of becoming a partner school has taught the office of undergraduate admissions how to better serve low-income and first-generation students.

“We’ve been very pleased with this process, and the students that we have been fortunate enough to match with are just incredibly academically talented, diverse students,” Jones said. “We look forward to engaging with them and thinking deeply about what we can do to support them while they’re here and what that means for our overarching inclusivity on our campus.”