By: Guerdyna Gelin
Esteban Barrero and Daniel Ramirez-Minaya were both admitted into two top, highly prestigious schools in early December with full four year scholarships through QuestBridge. Barrero was admitted to Stanford University with an intended major of Computer Science, and Ramirez-Minaya was admitted into Brown University with intended majors of Political Science and Philosophy.
When I spoke with him, Barrero said, “My dream school was Stanford. Since the beginning of my junior year, I knew that Stanford was the university I wanted to go to for my college experience. Getting accepted into Stanford felt surreal. It took me a few days to actually believe it. Once it set in, I celebrated and relaxed for a couple weeks. I was extremely happy that my hard work had paid off.”
Questbridge allowed both WPHS seniors to have completed the college application process early, which they say was both stressful and rewarding. Questbridge is a scholarship program that allows seniors from all across the country to be “matched” to universities with impressive financial aid packages. The goal of the organization is to increase the presence of students from low-income backgrounds at elite schools. They are partnered up with all Ivy League schools, Stanford, Duke, MIT, UVA, Emory, etc.
Ramirez-Minaya describes the process saying, “We had to have two essays and a number of short responses submitted by the end of September. In addition to that, we also had supplements for some schools to be submitted by November 1st. But with all that work, we were rewarded with our decisions early and now we’re able to relax.”
Barrero was able to relieve some stress with the help of his Latino U mentor through the Latino U Scholars Program. This program played a significant role in the college process during times he lacked motivation. “She helped me remain calm, motivated, and confident. She also helped me improve my writing significantly and made sure I was always on top of my supplements,” Barrero says.
In the long run, Barrero aspires to obtain internships with tech companies, participate in tech startups and eventually own his own tech company. Ramirez-Minaya strives to create sanctioned change for children who lack resources in his participation in government.
Current juniors can begin applying for Questbridge the fall of their senior year. Go Tigers!