Nishat Ahmed will attend Northwestern on full-ride scholarship

By Borislava Panoyotova

The hot summers and temperate winters of Arizona can never match the mild Junes and freezing Decembers of Illinois. However, senior Nishat Ahmed has to start preparing her winter coats. She is planning to head out to Evanston, Illinois, on her full-ride scholarship to Northwestern University! Through the Questbridge Scholarship, Nishat was able to match with this college..

According to the Questbridge website, the program was founded in 1994 and is “a national nonprofit based in Palo Alto, California that connects the nation’s most exceptional, low-income youth with leading colleges and opportunities.” The program allows students to apply to colleges by writing a variety of essays on topics that portray their personalities, strengths, and ambitions. If a student is selected from the first set of these essays, they pick 12 or fewer (out of 51) colleges. Students then must write a supplemental essay for each one of these colleges. One of the colleges from this list is the college that ends up being their final match.

Nishat Ahmed will attend Northwestern University on a full-ride scholarship.

Applications start in September but Nishat recommends starting early. “My least favorite part would be the lack of time between finalist results and supplemental essay due dates,” she says. “I only had two weeks to complete essays for the 10 colleges that I ranked.”

However, there were many resources she could use to improve her essays and to be as prepared as possible. “I took full advantage of YouTube, school websites, college advice sites, friends and counselors to research my schools and to brainstorm for my essays,” Nishat says.

Along with internet resourcesNishat adds, “Research your schools well and take notes. They will help in the ‘why us’ essay. In the college essays, be very honest as you are trying to find a school that fits your personality and your aspirations.”

There are many challenges to applying for a scholarship as intense as QuestBridge. The essays are extensive and the time frames are short. But the rewards are incredible. Students get the opportunity to go to a college that works the best for them on a full scholarship.

All in all, Nishat is “really excited for Northwestern,” she says, and is looking forward to attending next fall.