NJ Quintuplets Stick Together, Earn Free Ride To Montclair State

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Since earning five free rides to Montclair State University, the story of the Povolo quintuplets and their eye-popping scholarships has been warming hearts across New Jersey. But for some television viewers, the Totowa residents may have a familiar name.

Recently, Victoria, Masha, Ashley, Michael and Marcus Povolo found out that Montclair State is offering them scholarships and need-based grants that will put each on the path to a tuition-free, four-year college degree.

Overall, it adds up to about $250,000 in financial assistance, MSU administrators said.

A lot of the good fortune is due to the quints' hard work. Each earned their way into the university’s Presidential Scholars program, which rewards accomplished New Jersey students with a $5,000-a-year scholarship and additional academic, research-driven and career-focused activities, as long as they maintain the required grade point averages for all four years.

But before their academic careers made headlines, Victoria, Masha, Ashley, Michael and Marcus — along with their parents, Paolo and Silvia — were guests on an episode of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."

In the 2005 episode, the show's "Fab Five" gave Paolo and Silvia some well-deserved relaxation time together — and gave the Paolo one of their trademark makeovers. See what happened, via BravoTV.com.

The quintuplets’ next big media exposure would come nearly 15 years later.

During an emotional event at Passaic Valley High School in Little Falls earlier this month, officials broke the exciting news to the family, luring them to the school under the guise of “exploring ways to pay for college.”

When MSU’s mascot, Rocky, came out with a fistful of balloons and a giant replica check, the joy on the faces of the stunned parents spread like wildfire. (Read a university blog post about the event)

According to their parents, the revelation was a godsend for the teens, who are first-generation Americans and the first generation of their family to attend college.

“Your world can change in a moment,” a grateful Silvia said.

Paolo and Silvia said they’ve been worried about paying for the cost of college since their kids were born.

“We wondered — will we have to refinance the house?” Paolo recalled. “How much aid can we get? The last several months while they were applying to college have been so stressful.”

The Povolos aren’t alone in their worries. According to a 2019 study, the average college graduate in New Jersey had a debt of $33,593 that year, a 9.09 percent increase from 2017, It was one of the highest rates in the nation; only students from Washington, D.C., Delaware, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut graduated with more debt, researchers said.

• See related article: Student Debt Rising In NJ, But Montclair State Bucks Trend

The quintuplets will arrive on campus for the fall 2020 semester. Each has a different goal in mind when it comes to their studies, MSU administrators said:

• Victoria wants to be a forensic pathologist.
• Masha will study political science and plans to be a lawyer.
• Ashley dreams of teaching.
• Michael will study nutrition and food science.
• Marcus wants to be an accountant.

While they may eventually end up chasing their post-college dreams in separate locations, their close family bond will end up keeping the Povolos together for another four years.

Each had several choices of schools. But in the end, they chose to attend the same college: Montclair State University.

“There’s a bond that I can’t explain that is there,” the teens’ mother said. “So even though they have their own lives, at the end of the day, everybody comes home.”

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