Citrus Hill Student Awarded Questbridge Scholarship

From Val Verde Unified School District: Val Verde Unified School District is proud to announce that Citrus Hill High School student Dayana Espinoza, has been selected to receive a Questbridge Scholarship. Dayana is the first Citrus Hill High School student ever to receive this award.

Students selected for the Questbridge College Match are “matched” to one of QuestBridge’s 38 college partners— admitted with a guaranteed full, four-year scholarship, including tuition, room and board, and other expenses. QuestBridge’s college partners include top liberal arts colleges such as Amherst, Colby, Pomona, and Williams and research universities such as Brown, Columbia, Duke, Stanford, and Yale. Dayana has been matched with Vanderbilt University and is being awarded with a full, four-year scholarship worth over $200,000.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Dayana” said Citrus Hill Principal Nereyda Gonzalez. “She is a kind, hard working, talented young lady. She plans on majoring in engineering and is the change we wish to see in our world!”

Since 2003, the QuestBridge College Match has successfully connected over 4,000 students with full scholarships to college partners. These prestigious scholarships are generously provided to recipients by the colleges. Many more students are admitted later in the year through QuestBridge Regular Decision and all Finalists who ultimately matriculate to a QuestBridge college partner become QuestBridge Scholars. The QuestBridge Scholars Network now includes over 10,000 current students and alumni nationally.

“Our college partners are so committed to providing access to a high quality education,” said Ana McCullough, Co-Founder and CEO of QuestBridge. “The increase in College Matches this year really indicates their willingness to identify and educate the best students, regardless of their financial background.” Reflective of the rigorous standards of the College Match, the caliber of this year’s College Matches is top-notch. In addition to an average unweighted GPA of 3.91, the middle 50% have received between 1885-2150 on the old SAT (out of 2400), between 1320- 1460 on the new SAT (out of 1600), and between 29-33 on the ACT (out of 36). 92% rank in the top 10% of their class. Financially, their median household income is $32,218, and 81% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The majority of these new QuestBridge Scholars—73%—are also among the first generation in their families to attend a four-year U.S. college.

Photo courtesy of Val Verde Unified School District