General Application Questions

Quest has no absolute limits to household income to determine low-income status. We take many factors into consideration, including academic distinction, altruism, leadership potential, the size of a family and any extenuating circumstances described in the application. To give you a rough guideline, last year, most Quest participants came from homes with less than $50,000/year in earnings. But this is certainly not an absolute.

If you are wondering about your eligibility to our program, please fill out our optional application inquiry form.

Quest is need-based, both by design and by designation of our foundation sponsors. This is central to Quest’s mission. Quest assists low-income students who might not otherwise have the resources to attend a program like Quest or who may have limited financial or social support to attend the nation's best universities. Need will be one of the most important criteria, along with academic performance, intelligence, curiosity, maturity, perceived potential, perceived benefit to the student, and the quality of the application. Because of the high number of applications expected, middle and upper income students will probably not be competitive in the pool as, all other things being equal, we will accept the student with the lower income.

The best resources we have found for students looking for alternative summer programs are the following websites:

• www.campdepot.com
• www.campchannel.com
• www.allensguide.com

These sites list several summer programs and are fairly proactive about making sure listed organizations keep their information current. You can search for summer programs on these sites using several criteria. Please note that these websites are not in any way affiliated with Quest, and we have no control over the content of these sites.

Another wonderful summer program for those of you looking for an outdoor/cultural summer experience is 3D Life Adventures. Check out their website at www.3dzone.org. Please note that 3D Life Adventures is not affiliated with Quest, and we have no control over the content of their site, or their program. 3D Life Adventures also offers some scholarships to low-income students, and they are a QuestBridge partner.

Most of our scholarship information is tailored towards low-income students, so if you do not qualify for the program financially, you are not likely to find our scholarship database information helpful. Below is a listing of the best scholarship search sites we have found, which will hopefully be useful to you regardless of your financial background. These sites are free and will allow you to perform searches more tailored to your background:

• www.fastweb.com
• www.collegenet.com
• www.collegeboard.org
• www.finaid.org

You should visit your school counseling or career center to learn about other scholarships that local organizations may give out on a yearly basis. Although most scholarships are need-based, there are many academic and merit-based scholarships that are worth pursuing. Another resource we have found helpful in the past is to visit the websites of big companies and corporations—many of them give out scholarships that may not be need-based. Perseverance is often the best tool when searching for scholarships--good luck and happy hunting!

Please note that Quest is not affiliated with any of the websites listed above and we have no control over their website or program content. We provide links to these sites only because these are the resources we have found most useful, and we hope that they will be useful to you as well.

The Quest Scholars Program is currently in the process of establishing partnerships with other organizations through the QuestBridge initiative. We hope to refer as many applicants as possible to other programs. Students opting in to the QuestBridge program (by checking the appropriate box at the end of the online application) will be kept in our QuestBridge database for five years, so we hope that most students will be matched with several programs during the course of their high school and college undergraduate years. In most cases, these other programs are looking for students of similar backgrounds to Quest students, or of traditionally under-served or underrepresented backgrounds (including, but not limited to, factors such as ethnicity and parents who have not attended college). For more information on QuestBridge, please visit their website at www.questbridge.org.

If you feel that you do not qualify for QuestLeadership or QuestBridge, you may not find our referral service very helpful. We suggest that you instead refer to other websites and summer program listings to find programs best suited to your needs. One suggestion is http://www.campdepot.com. This website offers a vast array of alternative programs for high school students. Other suggestions include www.campchannel.com and www.allensguide.com. Please note that these websites are in no way affiliated with Quest, and that we have no control over the content of these sites.

Another wonderful summer program for those of you looking for an outdoor/cultural summer experience is 3D Life Adventures. Check out their website at www.3dzone.org. Please note that 3D Life Adventures is not affiliated with Quest, and we have no control over the content of their site, or their program.

We provide links to these sites only because these are the resources we have found most useful, and we hope that they will be useful to you as well.

We receive most of the names and addresses for recruitment through a PSAT and SAT search with ETS (Educational Testing Service). Thus, most students who receive our mailing receive it because they did exceptionally well on the PSAT or SAT. However, the College Board and Educational Testing Service do not release information from students about family income. This means that we are unable to sort recipients by income. Consequently, many of the students who receive our mailing do not qualify financially. The limitations of the PSAT search are extensive; however, it remains the best way for us to get information to bright, talented students--some of whom are low-income. The others, we hope will forward on the invitation to apply to those who they think qualify for the program.

Anyone is welcome to apply to Quest--you do not have to receive an invitation in order to apply. If you do apply to Quest, and you refer others to apply as well, please include that information in the appropriate section of the application as it actually enhances your application. In addition, if a teacher or friend referred you to Quest, please include this information on the application as well--we appreciate hearing how you learned about the program.

There will be on-site interviews for QuestLeadership in April and May at Stanford University in California and in Cambridge, Massachusetts for invited semi-finalists. Semi-finalists and their families will spend the day on the Stanford campus or near the Harvard campus in Boston, receiving tours and informational meetings on the day of the interviews. The location of your interview will be determined by your geographic location (i.e. if you are from the East Coast, you will be interviewed in Cambridge; if you are from the West Coast, you will be interviewed at Stanford; if you are from the middle of the country, you will be interviewed at the campus closest to your home).

The Quest Interview dates for semi-finalists are:

• Harvard Interviews: April 23rd and 24th
• Stanford Interviews: May 8th, 14th, 15th, and 22nd

http://www.questscholars.org/admission.htm

Quest's application is an online application. Consequently, there is no paper application. Anyone can access the application page from our website at http://www.questscholars.org/admission.htm.

Quest requires that you submit at least two recommendation letters from teachers who have taught you in academic subjects. At least one letter must be from a science or math teacher. You may submit up to four recommendation letters. If you submit more than the required two recommendation letters, the additional letters can be from other adults who know you well, such as a coach, employer, or activity advisor.

Your recommendation letters should be written by individuals who have knowledge of both your academic capability and your personal strengths. It is helpful if the recommendation writers also know you on a more personal level, although this is certainly not a requirement.

Your recommendation writers will fill out the recommendation form using our online system. Once you enter their names and email address in the "Recommendations" portion of the application page, they will receive an email with detailed instructions about how to complete your reference. You should make sure to register recommenders as soon as possible, in order to give them the maximum amount of time to complete the form online. Delayed recommendation letters will delay the processing of your application, so it is also a good idea to go online and monitor your recommendation writer's progress in the Recommendations portion of the application page. From there, you can send reminder emails to teachers, or register new recommenders if you need to. Please note that while we provide space for four references, only two are required. We strongly suggest that you register four recommenders, so that if one or two are delayed, your application will still be processed.

For more information on recommendation letters, please read the appropriate sections of the "application overview and instructions," available by clicking on the instructions link in the online application.

Recommendations have to be submitted through the online application process. The first step in this process is for the applicant to register his or her rec writers. To register recommenders, log on to the online application and click on "recommenders" in the left-hand toolbar. Enter the email addresses of up to four recommenders (please read "who should write my recommendation letters," above). Each recommender will then receive an email with instructions for how to complete your recommendation in the online system. Please remind your rec writers to check the email account they gave you--this is how they will receive instructions.

Some helpful hints:

• Prior to registering your writers online, ask the writer for the email address he or she checks most frequently. Be sure to enter this email address online. You may also want to use this opportunity to introduce Quest and your application to the writer, so that he or she knows the details of the program and is expecting the email.
• Check in with your recommendation writers frequently, to be sure they remember to submit your form. Student applications cannot be received by Quest (even after they are submitted through the Embark system) until at least two of your registered recommendations have been submitted into the system.
• Don't forget to register your recommenders early in the process. And, be sure to do so before hitting "submit" in your online application.
• If you need to delete one recommender and add a new one, you can do so through the "recommenders" section of the online application.
• If you need to change a recommender's email address, simply delete the original recommender, and re-enter him or her with the correct email address.

For more information on recommendation letters, please read the appropriate sections of the "application overview and instructions," available by clicking on the instructions link in the online application.

Your GPA is only one of the factors considered in evaluating your application. We have no minimum GPA requirements. Please note that you must report your GPA on a 4.0 scale. If your school does not do this for you, you will need to calculate your GPA using the following table:

To use this table, find the GPA value of your final grade in a class (for example, a B+ is a 3.3) and multiply it by the total number of units the class is worth (for a five unit class, multiply 5 x 3.3). Do this for each of your courses in grades 9-12, adding the GPAs as you go. Then, divide by the total number of units you have taken. For example, if you have taken only three classes (unlikely, we know!), each worth five units, and you have received an A, B+, and A-, calculate your GPA as follows:

(5 x 4.0) + (5 x 3.3) + (5 x 3.7) = 55, 55/15 =3.67, or a 3.7 GPA (you can round to the nearest tenth for this application, though many applications do not allow you to round up, so please be aware of this in the future).

Please note that this GPA scale does not allow you to have a GPA over 4.0, so you will need to adjust as necessary to make your GPA between 1.0 and 4.0. You should calculate your GPA for all classes taken in your 9-12 grade years. You may omit physical education and military science courses if you wish.

If you have extenuating circumstances surrounding your GPA that you would like to explain, please do so in the additional information question at the end of the application.

Quest does not pay for travel to interviews. We will provide applicants selected for an interview with a list of other students from their local area coming to interviews, so students can arrange to carpool or to travel together. Interviewees are welcome to look into finding other sources of funding for their travel including sponsorship by outside organizations. In the past, some of our interviewees have had scholarships for their airfare to the interviews, including sponsorships from local community organizations, churches, and even teachers at their school.

For QuestLeadership summer participants, Quest will pay the necessary airfare for those who live more than one day's drive from Stanford University.

We plan to interview in Cambridge, MA and on the Stanford campus in California. The Quest Interview dates for semi-finalists are:

• Harvard Interviews: April 23rd and 24th
• Stanford Interviews: May 8th, 14th, 15th, and 22nd

Invited semi-finalists will hear from us by phone about their interview dates. We will notify selected applicants of their interview dates as soon as possible and we will try to accommodate scheduling conflicts. Although a personal interview is far preferable, participants who cannot make the interviews may be interviewed by phone.

All applicants are required to submit the following via our online application system:

• Answers to all questions on the Quest 2005 application, via the online application system

• A copy of your high school transcript will be needed to complete part of the application--please obtain this from your high school administration

• Two letters of recommendation:

1. At least one from a teacher who has taught you in an academic subject (i. e. math, science, English, history)
2. The other from another academic teacher (can be from any discipline)

Your recommendation writers will submit these recommendations online, so please be sure to register them in the online system as soon as possible to give them the maximum amount of time to complete your references. You may submit up to two additional recommendations (see "recommendations" question above for details).

We strongly encourage you to include at least one photograph of yourself--one which represents you well. You may provide more than one if you like. This helps us remember you better. These photographs can either be submitted online, or mailed to us using the application supplement form (please note that if you do not submit photographs online, you must submit the supplement form via mail, even if you choose not to submit photographs).

Semi-finalists selected for interviews will be invited to bring additional materials (such as art samples) to interviews. They will also be instructed to bring an official copy of their high school transcript for verification against the self-reported data entered online.

Most browsers are compatible with the application, including all of the most popular ones (Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Firefox, and Opera). We recommend that you view the application in Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, and if you use a Mac, in Safari. .

If you do use Mozilla/Firefox 1.0, make sure you adjust your font settings and make your display font larger. You may do this quickly by pressing the CRTL key and the + sign at the same time (CTRL++). Doing this repeatedly will make the fonts bigger and bigger. Otherwise your input text will display painfully small. Do note that certain things will not display correctly using Firefox (columns may appear slightly misaligned, for example), You should not, however, have any problems completing and submitting your application using the Firefox browser.

We have not thoroughly tested any other browsers.

Generally, we can't provide answers to these questions for you until your status has been determined. Your status is determined shortly after you have submitted your application. The date of this notification is determined after the applicationd deadline and varies from application to application. Given the high number of applications and the limitations of our staff, we cannot provide early status notifications for any students.

After you have received your status notification, you will also receive detailed instructions on changing interview dates. If you anticipate a conflict with an interview date, the best thing to do is wait until you have received notice as to whether or not you are invited to be interviewed. After that time, you may request changes to your interview date.

In the case that you cannot make a personal interview, you are welcome to request a phone interview. Phone interviews will be scheduled for the end of May and you will receive more information on them after you have made a phone interview request.

Qualifications

If you are wondering about your eligibility to our program, please fill out our optional application inquiry form.

You should apply if you are a bright, low-income, high school freshman, sophomore or junior interested in leadership, public service, and science. You need not want to work specifically in the environmental or medical fields to be accepted to Quest (e.g., you do not have to want to be a marine biologist, ecologist, geologist, doctor etc. to be accepted).

However, we do seek students with a genuine interest in learning about leadership, environmental science and environmental problem-solving on local, regional, and global levels. We are looking for students who are engaged and open-minded, who would bring an enthusiasm for learning to our discussions about medicine and the environment as well as other topics. Since many of our lectures are science based, those who enjoy the discipline will get more out of participation in the summer program.

Note: you must be low-income to be considered. Priority will be given to students who would not otherwise be exposed to higher education (e.g. those whose parents are not professionals). We welcome applicants who have faced special obstacles.

The following criteria are used in selection:

• Under-served/Low-income status
• An interest in leadership and public service
• Junior or Senior high school student in upcoming fall term (Seniors normally given preference, all things being equal). In other words, current sophomores and juniors. Exceptional freshman may apply
• Residence in the target geographic area
• Demonstrated maturity, initiative, integrity, introspection, enthusiasm and curiosity
• An interest in a professional career and/or graduate school
• Demonstrated aptitude and interest in science
• A thoughtful written application is extremely important

Assessment of these criteria will be drawn from a written application, teacher recommendations, transcript records, and personal interviews. Students are encouraged to provide any information they feel will help their application. Applications will be reviewed by a program committee and all eventual participants will be interviewed by the Quest directors, executive director, and founders who will make the final admission selections. Admissions decisions will be reviewed by appropriate program staff.

We would like to emphasize that the program is need-based, both by design and by designation of our foundation sponsors. This is central to Quest’s mission. Quest assists low-income students who might not otherwise be exposed to quality higher education or the application process.

Need will be one of the most important criteria, along with academic performance, intelligence, curiosity, maturity, perceived potential, perceived benefit to the student, and the quality of the application. We expect many applications this year, so middle and upper income students will not be competitive in the pool. We accept students from all ethnic backgrounds. Since intercultural education is also part of the curriculum, Quest will attempt to create a culturally diverse group of students. In some cases, unique qualities or histories that a participant could offer the group will enhance an application. Special priority will be given to creating good group dynamics, and a positive, safe learning and living environment. These factors will play an important role in admission decisions.

Quest has no absolute limits to household income to determine low-income status. We take many factors into consideration, including academic distinction, altruism, leadership potential, the size of a family and any extenuating circumstances described in the application. To give you a rough guideline, last year, most Quest participants came from homes with less than $50,000/year in earnings. but this is certainly not an absolute.

If you are wondering about your eligibility to our program, please fill out our optional application inquiry form.

Quest is need-based, both by design and by designation of our foundation sponsors. This is central to Quest’s mission. Quest assists low-income students who might not otherwise have the resources to attend a program like Quest or who may have limited financial or social support to attend the nation's best universities. Need will be one of the most important criteria, along with academic performance, intelligence, curiosity, maturity, perceived potential, perceived benefit to the student, and the quality of the application. Because of the high number of applications expected, middle and upper income students will probably not be competitive in the pool as, all other things being equal, we will accept the student with the lower income

Although we look for strong school performance, we do not necessarily select the applicants with the best GPA’s. Quest recognizes that there are extenuating circumstances that prevent some students from demonstrating their academic potential through coursework and grades. If this is true for you, please make sure that you explain your situation in your application. Many other factors, including teacher recommendations, demonstrated ability in answering the application questions, and family circumstances are taken into consideration. We want to help people who have the most to gain from the program. We encourage any extremely motivated, bright, low-income student interested in the environment or medicine and a professional career to apply. For information on calculating your GPA, please see the question above "how do I calculate my GPA?"

All applicants who meet the criteria are eligible to apply regardless of their residency status. Applicants who are not legal residents or citizens of the United States but who attend high school in the U.S. are welcome to apply to Quest. We do ask about your residency status on the application because this helps us to begin looking for scholarship and financial aid opportunities for you. Residency information collected on the application will not be shared with any governmental organization.

"U.S. Citizen/Dual Resident" refers to those people who were either born in the United States or to who were originally citizens of another country and have filed and been accepted as United States citizens through the United States naturalization process.

"Permanent Resident" is a status held by a non-U.S. Citizen after qualifying and being registered by the Immigration Service. This status allows the person to live permanently in the US, to travel in and out without a visa, to work at any job, to accumulate time toward US citizenship. A permanent resident is not allowed to vote or serve in the armed forces.

In the history of the program, we have never accepted a student currently residing outside of the U.S. This is because the program is designed to support the U.S. high school system. In addition, the students who participate in the program during the summer are expected to remain highly involved with the program throughout their senior year of high school. The level of commitment we require would be almost impossible to complete for a student studying in another country.

You are welcome to submit an application to Quest, but it would be very unlikely that we would be able to accept a student living and studying abroad.

Program Questions

For an overview of the QuestLeadership summer program, we invite you to take our online tour. Here, you'll find lots of useful program information. You can also look at an actual schedule from the summer program, giving you an indication of how each of our days is spent.

• A full scholarship for summer participation in QuestLeadership including tuition, food, housing and recreation. Students participate entirely for free.

• A staff-to-student ratio of 1:1. The program is staffed by current and former Harvard, Stanford, and other Ivy League students who will live with you in the program house. The program directors and executive director are graduates of Stanford and Harvard. The founders and presidents are an emergency room physician and a lawyer.

• A faculty-to-student ratio of 3:1. Our faculty are primarily Stanford professors and include special speakers from around the nation including several Rhodes scholars, MacArthur Fellows, and a Nobel laureate.

• A deeply fulfilling educational experience. Quest gives its participants the best that Stanford and its faculty have to offer. Lectures are given by award-winning professors, regional and national experts on the environment, and minority leaders. Skills workshops assist the students with writing, speaking, computer skills, critical thinking, leadership, inter-cultural communication, and applying to college, graduate and professional schools.

• Field trips and hands-on experience in earth sciences and medicine.

• One-on-one meetings with national environmental leaders, medical experts, and political figures.

• Exposure to professionals from many fields (e.g. law, business, engineering, medicine, science, ecology, marine biology, forestry, geology, social science) who have managed to incorporate their environmental and medical interests into their careers. Students unsure about their career choices will have a good chance to compare themselves with successful professionals from similar social and economic background.

• Internship shadowing with an expert in the participant’s area of professional interest.

• A personal mentor for the duration of the summer program and, usually, for many years to come.

• Martial arts training. Physical fitness in an important part of the Quest experience. Yoga, Aerobics, and Aikido training are part of our curriculum. Aikido is a traditional Japanese martial art. We have our own instructor and have classes 3-4 times per week.

• A new circle of friends. Participants become close friends with each other and the staff. These relationships are among the most valuable benefits of the program.

• Reflection time. You will have dedicated time to practice your personal faith and/or to explore your beliefs or life goals through writing, reading, prayer, or quiet reflection.

• Access to Stanford's academic, recreational, and athletic facilities.

• A network of advisors to contact in the future. Quest has a list of professionals you may contact for advice.

• Support for college applications, jobs, and recommendations. In fact, you will leave the program with recommendations for college.

• Assistance in writing a personal statement for college. You will also be able to speak directly with Stanford admissions officers about the process.

• Networking with other college enrichment programs, employment, and scholarships. Quest is currently linking with other programs designed to assist underrepresented students in college. We will link our participants when possible with these programs after completion of Quest.

• High school credit where possible. Most students receive up to 10 units of advanced science high school credit.

• Continued support where possible; helping students apply for need-based and merit scholarships. We will help every student apply for several scholarships during the program and we will keep students informed of opportunities in the future via a periodic newsletter.

• And much more. We will do our best to make this the most challenging and rewarding educational experience of your life to date

For an overview of the QuestLeadership summer program, we invite you to take our online tour. Here, you'll find lots of useful information and get a better sense of what we do and what participants will take away from the program.

• That you make the best of this opportunity. We want you to have an enriching and rewarding educational and personal experience. We also want to recognize that QuestLeadership is not a handout. In exchange for participation in the summer program, we ask that students work hard and make the most of this opportunity.

• To give back to your schools and communities in the future. In exchange for participation in Quest, we expect participants to share what you learn. You will have access to curriculum materials, and staff support, for this purpose. Specifically, students are required to develop and implement a public service outreach project after graduating from Quest (and may apply for seed funding for this venture), and are asked to provide college admissions assistance to at least three other students. For more information, please see "program content" above. Detailed information will be forwarded to finalists.

• A high level of maturity, integrity, and dedication. We will open up opportunities to participants normally reserved for undergraduate and graduate college students. Thus, we need students to accept a high degree of responsibility and maturity.

The 2005 summer session will operate from June 26 to July 30. You must be free for the entire program duration in order to participate.

Students live in a residence house on the Stanford University campus seven days a week, including weekends. Safety is of paramount importance to us: students are not permitted to leave the house without either a staff member present, or with express permission from the program staff. To date, we have never had a safety issue. We have our own chef, Luis, who prepares wonderful meals, and who is able to cater to almost any dietary restraints or allergies.

Families can visit on most Sundays.