Congratulations to Madison Davis on receiving a Questbridge National Match Scholarship! Fewer than 2,600 high school seniors across the United States receive this honor, which fully covers students’ college education expenses, including tuition & fees, housing & food, books & supplies, and travel expenses. Madison matched with the College of the Holy Cross, a private liberal arts college outside of Boston in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Prior to being named a Match Scholarship recipient, Davis was named a 2025 Questbridge College Prep Scholar. This program for high-achieving juniors from low-income backgrounds provides students with scholarships, awards, and resources designed to help them stand out in the college admissions process. She received access to writing workshops and presentations that helped her craft her college essays and give her a head start on preparing application materials for the colleges she would eventually choose to apply during the Match Scholarship process.
Early in her senior year, Davis had to complete the National College Match application, which she described as intense and “the hardest one [she’s] ever completed.” After turning in the initial application, Davis had to choose the schools from Questbridge’s 55 college partners with which she would like to be matched. Though 55 may seem like a lot, she had to choose carefully because she would enter a binding contract with the top school from the 15 Match Rankings that accepted her application. Because of this technicality, she only filled 12 of the Match Ranking spots.
After her rankings were completed, Davis had to wait to see if her Match application had been named a finalist. Typically, there are around 7,000 applicants who are named finalists though this doesn’t guarantee students a spot as a Match Scholarship recipient. On October 21, she was named a finalist and then had to complete supplementary materials by November 1 for each of the 12 schools she ranked as her Match schools.
On December 1, Davis learned she had matched with College of the Holy Cross. With current yearly costs of $87,790, Madison will eventually receive over $350,000. She looks forward to the adventure of living in the Northeast and possibly studying abroad. She says, “I highly recommend doing the National College Match and everything Questbridge has to offer. This is the biggest opportunity and blessing in my life so far, and I am so excited to get started!”