Francisco Cervantes, a senior at Veterans Memorial Early College High School, has been awarded a full four-year scholarship to Boston College through QuestBridge, a national program that connects high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds to top U.S. colleges.
Cervantes, who has ranked second in his class since freshman year, plans to study electrical engineering, circuitry and rocketry, with an eye toward an eventual career in space exploration with SpaceX, or possibly by starting his own company.
He said math, engineering and science have always intrigued him and he has always done well in those classes. But he credits his parents, Brenda Limon and Jose Cervantes, with being totally supportive and pushing him to get top grades.
“They expected a lot and it made me a better problem solver,” he said.
Cervantes lives with his parents in Matamoros three days a week, and four days a week with his aunt, Roussseli Limon, in Brownsville. He said most nights by the time he gets home it is already 8:30 p.m., and by the time he finishes his homework and other assignments, it’s 3 a.m. The schedule doesn’t leave much time for sleep and getting across the Gateway International Bridge, or for the long ride out to Veterans, but it’s turned out to be worth it.
“We are very excited and honored to have Francisco be a recipient of the 2021 National College Match,” Veterans Memorial Principal Linda Gallegos said, adding that the selection was a first, both for Veterans Memorial and the Brownsville Independent School District.
Cervantes maintains a grade-point average of 5.782, and 3.76 weighted on a 4.0 scale, he said.
Out of more than 16,500 applicants, QuestBridge selected 6,312 finalists to be considered for the QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship. This year’s 45 QuestBridge college partners matched with 1,674 finalists, who are recognized as Match Scholarship Recipients. This is the highest number of Match Scholarship Recipients to date for QuestBridge.
“The achievements of our Match Scholarship Recipients are a culmination of their hard work and perseverance,” said Ana McCullough, co-founder and CEO of QuestBridge. “Thanks to the commitment of our college partners, these deserving students can tap into their full potential without worrying about the cost of a great education.”
Match Scholarship recipients are admitted early to QuestBridge schools, with full four-year scholarships that are provided by the colleges and universities, ensuring for these students and their families that an education at a top college can be affordable.
This year’s 45 QuestBridge college and university partners include top liberal arts colleges such as Amherst, Pomona, and Williams and exceptional research universities such as Duke, Princeton, Stanford, the University of Chicago, and Yale.
The Match Scholarship is offered as part of a generous financial aid package provided by the college that covers the full cost of attendance, including tuition, room and board, books and supplies, and travel expenses.
This year’s Match Scholarship Recipients come from 49 states, as well as the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico.
This year’s QuestBridge seniors have an average unweighted GPA of 3.93, and 92% are in the top 10% of their graduating class. Financially, 95% come from a household with an annual income under $65,000, and 87% qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. The majority of these new QuestBridge Scholars — 81% — are among the first generation in their families to attend a four-year college in the United States.
