College Counselors’ Guide to Distinguished College Scholarships: QuestBridge and Posse Foundation Programs

Prestigious college scholarships can be transformative for students with big ambitions but limited financial resources. QuestBridge and Posse Foundation are programs that offer full-tuition awards and additional support that make college affordable and attainable. Student Leadership Network’s CollegeBound Initiative (CBI) team has found that, in addition to supporting students through the application process, creating exposure to the programs’ partner colleges and facilitating connections to enrolled alumni are major factors in helping students understand and grasp these opportunities.

Our proactive approach has paid off. Each year, our directors of college counseling (DCCs) successfully guide several students to broaden their horizons and secure QuestBridge and Posse Foundation scholarships. Here are four takeaways for counselors to build a foundation for scholarship success.

How can my school create early exposure for students to distinguished scholarship opportunities?

Our CBI team has boosted program awareness by creating exposure early and often. Consider working with other counselors and advisors in your school to host scholarship information sessions and activate your alumni.

• Information Sessions: Our DCCs host information sessions about specific scholarships in the Fall of students’ junior year. The early timing also prompts counselors to review student rosters and identify students who may be strong candidates for QuestBridge, Posse, and other distinguished scholarship programs well before application season opens.
• Activate Alumni: Students may find conversations with near-peers can be more persuasive than talking with counselors. Our DCCs invite alumni, who are QuestBridge or Posse scholars currently in college, to a virtual scholarship panel discussion available to students across our network. They also encourage recent graduates to return to their high schools’ in-person Alumni Days to share about their experiences and answer students’ questions.

How do I get college admissions representatives in front of my students?

Invite college admissions representatives into your space, especially those from institutions that partner with QuestBridge and Posse. If you are co-located with other schools in your building or have other high schools nearby, consider jointly hosting an event to increase the pool of students that college reps can reach. A larger turnout may be more viable for college admissions reps, who may have limited availability to visit in person.

• Host or Attend a College Fair: CBI organizes a network-wide collaborative college fair for our high school juniors in the Spring semester, and several borough-based collaborative college fairs in the Fall of students’ senior year. Each fair is thoughtfully curated to include colleges and universities that partner with the QuestBridge and Posse programs. Students are alerted of the college reps’ attendance before the fairs so they can plan to speak with them.
• Distinguished Scholarships Roundtable: A signature annual event cultivated by our CBI team, the roundtable invites admissions representatives from colleges and universities that partner with QuestBridge and Posse to meet students our DCCs have identified as strong applicants.

At our most recent roundtable, 165 juniors across 25 high schools in our network benefited from small-group rotations – demonstrating to 11 college admissions reps their early interest and commitment to their futures. The event was hosted at CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, providing students another opportunity to step into a real college environment as they research post-secondary options.

Some of my students only want to consider local college options. How can I make going to college at one of these partner institutions seem less daunting?

Whenever possible, tailor your college trips to include some institutions that partner with QuestBridge or Posse. If you are co-located with other schools in your building or have other high schools nearby, consider hosting a joint trip to share transportation costs and bring the right number of chaperones and interested students.

College trips let students see the campus environment and culture firsthand, experience the travel route, and feel more comfortable with the idea of living away from home. College admissions offices track visits from prospective students, so your students’ presence on campus will show their demonstrated interest – a plus when they reach the phase of the QuestBridge and Posse application process where they’re finalizing their college match list.

• Our CBI team organizes an annual Women’s Colleges Trip that includes at least one distinguished scholarship partner college.
• Our Posse Partners college trip connects students with Posse partners’ admissions representatives at colleges in the Pennsylvania area.

What key dates and deadlines should I keep in mind?

Carefully review the eligibility requirements for each scholarship program. Create internal deadlines that are earlier than the program due dates. Earlier due dates give your students more time to research colleges and revise essays, and give you time to review their essays and provide interview prep.

“It was a fast-paced few weeks, but it gave us students time to get feedback from our DCC, our teachers, and our families before anything was submitted. The time crunch was worth it.”

Lizbeth, QuestBridge Scholar at Wesleyan University

How do I nominate students for the Posse Foundation Scholarship?

Counselors or other school staff must register with Posse and work with high school juniors/seniors in one of Posse’s recruitment cities in order to nominate their students. Students cannot apply directly to Posse.

Check eligible participating cities and other program criteria here.

What is the timeline for the Posse application process?

You can nominate students as early as the second semester of their junior year through the summer before their senior year.

From September to December, Posse conducts the Dynamic Assessment Process, a unique evaluation method designed to identify young leaders who might be missed by traditional admissions criteria but who can excel at selective colleges and universities. The three-part assessment process includes large-group and individual interviews.

Scholarship decisions are announced in December.

How do I nominate students for QuestBridge?

Students can apply directly to QuestBridge programs in their junior or senior year of high school.

• The College Prep Scholars Program for high school juniors opens in early February. Applications are due in late March. This program prepares them to be better-prepared candidates for the National College Match in their senior year.
• The National College Match for high school seniors opens in late summer. Applications are due in the fall.

What is the timeline for the QuestBridge application process?

Check QuestBridge’s eligibility and selection criteria here. Eligible students can apply for QuestBridge’s National College Match through the end of September.* They then need to rank colleges by mid-October and will be alerted if they’ve advanced to the Finalist round in late October. Scholarship decisions are announced on December 1st on Match Day.

*For 2026, the deadline is October 1st.

Celebrate the Results

Celebrate with your students! Competitive scholarship programs like QuestBridge and Posse are attainable through the students’ hard work, their families’ encouragement, and the support of their teachers and counselors like you.

Even if your students are not selected for these opportunities, they can apply what they learn from this rigorous process to other scholarship applications. For QuestBridge, a separate regular decision option is available for students who did not match on December 1st but can still be strong candidates for each college’s regular decision pipeline.

Interested in getting support for the college application process in your public school? Visit our College Access Consulting Services page for more information or fill out the inquiry form below.