STANFORD - More than a decade ago, Veronica Ponce's mother fled an abusive, drunken husband and smuggled her daughters across the Mexican border.

Veronica passionately recalls December 12, 1992, as the first turning point in her life when, at age 6, she escaped a life of violence and despair.

Her life has since taken a remarkable, determined turn because, after having become a superb student, she has put herself onto a path that might well lead her to an elite university.

Although it rings less dramatic than sneaking past border guards in the night, she described her experience at a free, five-week Stanford college preparation program this summer as the second turning point.

For Veronica, 17, the Quest Scholars Program, which propels promising, disadvantaged high school students into the top colleges in the nation, gave her a dream and a way to achieve it.

"My plans were just to graduate from high school and go to work," she said.

"I really knew that deep down inside of me I wanted to go to college, but I assumed that I couldn't."

With a perfect grade point average for three years at Antioch High School and good SAT scores, she would be accepted at most state schools. She also speaks both English and Spanish fluently, volunteers religiously and works 20 hours a week. But Veronica is poor and she is not an American citizen.

Her legal status disqualifies her for federal financial aid and most tuition assistance because public universities are federally funded. As it is, she and her mother barely scrape by with enough for food, bills, and rent for their subsidized apartment on Village Drive in Pittsburg.

Until she attended Quest, the program at Stanford, Veronica was resigned to wait until she could save money for tuition or gain residency. Her uncle, Juan Navarrete, an American citizen, petitioned for her family's residency when she first came with her mother and sister, but nearly 11 years later, they still are waiting.

Quest advisers, however, told Veronica that she could get financial assistance from private colleges that have large endowments, such as Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, and that if she worked hard and spent an extra year in high school, those colleges likely would admit her.

Since Quest began eight years ago, all of its graduates have gone to college, with 80 percent of them attending Stanford and Harvard, the two sites where Quest is hosted.

Last week, the Quest students presented reports on East Palo Alto, delving into the city's economic and environmental problems. Veronica listened attentively, taking notes. She asked questions without hesitation.

That is not surprising, because Veronica is unlike most teens. She ignores the skimpy fashions many of her peers have embraced. She wore a loose-fitting T-shirt and a long skirt, her hair pulled back from her face, free of makeup, in a neat ponytail. She doesn't worry about being cool. Veronica has few friends and has little opportunity to talk about her problems. She spends her lunchtime studying in the library.

"Freshman year I had friends," she said. "We just hung around acting stupid. I would do things I didn't want to do to fit in. Most of them dropped out."

While her reserve has been conducive to good grades, it has not been fun.

"I work. I go to school. Life gets boring. It gets mechanical," she said. "My only enjoyment is church."

Quest helped her find some perspective.

Time for sharing past experiences is a regularly scheduled part of the day at Quest, as are lectures and writing seminars. Veronica began talking about some of the most intimate details of her life and said it was liberating.

Now she will readily discuss her family's history of abuse, physical and sexual, and their struggles with poverty.

With the guiding hand of a few of her teachers, Veronica has become a totally self-made student. No one has to review her report cards or tell her to do her homework.

"We never thought that someone could go through so much, and could become such a special person," said her uncle, Navarrete.

Her triumph is especially poignant in contrast to some of her peers and relatives.

"I found a refuge in God," Veronica said. Others, she recalled, "kind of found a refuge in drugs and pleasure."

Veronica is determined to go to Stanford. The Quest counselors advised her to spend an extra year at Antioch High School, take Advanced Placement classes and courses at a junior college, and raise her SAT score.

Most seniors would shun the idea of another year in high school, but she considers it a small price to pay to go to Stanford or an Ivy League school.

She plans to study to become a teacher or a lawyer specializing in juvenile law.

Veronica is convinced that she will succeed. She is not the only one. Quest director Sarah Chandler also believes Veronica will achieve her dreams.

"Her motivating force is altruism ... she just wants to help people," Chandler said.

"I don't think there is anything that could stop her at this point."