The college application process can be daunting and expensive. One local high school student was able to navigate that process for free to land a four-year scholarship. On December 1, MVHS Senior Sam Snyder received notification he was matched with Denison University through the national nonprofit, Questbridge.
Questbridge’s mission is to connect high-achieving students to top universities by removing the barriers of the financial cost of post-secondary education. Students go through a process of ranking partner schools, and their application packages are processed to see if they are matched with a school. Over 25,000 students applied through Questbridge in 2025, with only 7,288 finalists.
Snyder found out in October that he was a Questbridge finalist. Unsure if he would even get through to the final round, Snyder had hoped to at least open doors to some scholarships. Not all finalists get the full ride. Snyder stated, “But as I got the finalist decision, I was like, okay, that’s big.”
Receiving the news that he was matched on December 1 meant he was one of 2,627 students who were matched with a school from their college list. The match is a binding agreement between the student and the school. Snyder added, “Whatever college is willing to accept you, that is the highest on your list, is the one that you go to.”
Excited for his next chapter, Snyder is looking forward to “meeting a bunch of new people, being able to actually explore my interests to the fullest extent that I want to in life, and be able to just work towards my final goals in life.” His plan of study is not yet decided, and he looks forward to exploring courses until he has to declare his major at the end of his sophomore year.
Snyder’s advice to anyone who receives information on Questbridge is to “apply—there’s no reason not to.” Questbridge has videos on the application process online to make the process less daunting. When asked what he felt was the most compelling part of his application, Snyder was unsure. “I was really proud of my essay because I, like, actually put work into it and tried to, like, make sure that it was the best that I could do in the time that I had. I’m going to bring this to me,” Snyder added. Snyder will make the move to Granville in August to start his experience as a Denison student.
