You might call it the $160,000 application.

Polson High School senior Jenny Tiskus found out last Friday that she was one of 102 students nationwide to be selected as a scholarship winner in the College Match program, and she will receive a full, four-year ride to Stanford University as a result.

Tiskus found out via e-mail while she was in journalism class, and thought at first she was the victim of a practical joke.

"At first I thought it was a fake, and that one of my friends had sent the e-mail as a cruel joke. Then I did a crazy little dance and scared half the [Salishian newspaper] staff," she said.

She was able to breathe easier Monday when she received formal confirmation in the mail, guaranteeing her a scholarship worth about $160,000 at the prestigious, Ivy-league school located in California. But the scholarship wouldn't have happened without the encouragement of PHS counselor Sherry Jones, Tiskus said.

"Really, I just applied on a lark. I figured I'd just end up at the U of M, but I just decided to try," she said.

The College Match program strives to give lower income students a shot at attending an elite university they might otherwise not be able to afford. The idea is to increase the diversity of the student body there, Tiskus said.

Students list their top 10 choices, and Stanford was Tiskus' top choice, followed by Columbia University and Amherst College. She only listed three on her application, but it was the first one that made the difference.

"I couldn't even believe it. I kept thinking, 'Boy, I wish they'd send me a letter [of confirmation] because I was worried they'd made a mistake," she said.

Tiskus said she plans to continue being active in campus journalism. Stanford has several student papers, and Tiskus is co-editor of the Salishian at PHS. She's also a state champion extemporaneous speaker, and the state's student representative to the Montana Board of Education.

She said she wants to study Arabic and English, too. Although Stanford doesn't offer a journalism degree, she said she feels that's what she wants to do after she graduates.

"All the jobs I want to do will make me poor," she said with a laugh.