Desert Mirage student Karen Magaña awarded prestigious QuestBridge scholarship
A Desert Mirage High School student was awarded a prestigious scholarship to attend her number one choice of college.
Karen Magaña was awarded the QuestBridge Scholarship. As part of the full academic scholarship, Magaña will receive $83,000 a year for the next four years to cover all tuition and housing costs.
Magaña committed to attending Pomona College in the fall. Pamona College is one of the world’s leading liberal arts colleges
The scholarship comes as a result of the 2023 QuestBridge National College Match, a program that connects high-achieving high school seniors from low-income backgrounds with full four-year scholarships to 50 of the nation’s best colleges.
Out of over 20,800 applicants, QuestBridge selected 6,683 Finalists to be considered for the QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship.
According to the non-profit, QuestBridge’s 50 college partners matched with 2,242 Finalists, including Magaña. It's the highest number of Match Scholarship Recipients to date for QuestBridge.
The awardees have an average unweighted GPA of 3.94. 93% are in the top 10% of their graduating class. Around 92% come from a household with an annual income under $65,000, and 87% qualify for free or reduced-price school meals.
The majority of this year’s Match Scholarship Recipients — 82% — are among the first generation in their families to attend a four-year college in the United States, according to QuestBridge.
“We are thrilled to welcome this historic number of QuestBridge Scholars,” said Ana Rowena Mallari, Co-Founder and CEO of QuestBridge. “These Scholars will bring a depth of thought and range of experiences to our college partner campuses that will surely enrich their new communities.”
