SANDPOINT — Sandpoint High School students have applied for a QuestBridge scholarship each of the last 10 years, and each year those teens have been unsuccessful.

Until now, that is.

SHS senior Tara Rawlings recently received the news that she was awarded a full-ride scholarship to Grinnell College in Iowa, courtesy of the QuestBridge program.

“The school is the one actually giving you the scholarship, rather than the program — they just connect you with the school,” Rawlings said.

QuestBridge is a national nonprofit based in Palo Alto, Calif., that connects the nation’s “most exceptional, low-income youth” with leading colleges and opportunities, according to questbridge.org. QuestBridge aims to increase the percentage of talented low-income students by working with them to attend the nation’s best colleges and to support them to achieve success in their careers and communities. Through a rigorous process, QuestBridge seeks academically outstanding students who also fulfill the financial qualifications. In 2018, out of 16,248 applications, 6,507 students were selected as National College Match finalists. Of the finalists, 1,044 students were matched to a QuestBridge college partner and received a full four-year College Match scholarship.

Rawlings said she applied as a junior and went through the program as a College Prep Scholar, which gives high school juniors an early advantage in the college admissions process. Through the program, Rawlings said she had the opportunity to go to Stanford and work on her writing skills and work with admissions counselors. While many of the College Prep Scholars are selected as QuestBridge finalists, Rawlings said it does not mean they are going to be matched their senior year. There are two separate applications for the College Prep Scholar and QuestBridge Scholar programs, she said, and each is about 35 pages long, covering everything from family information and tax returns, to multiple essay questions, community service, clubs, academics and more. The two applications differed somewhat, though, she said.

“With the College Prep Scholars, they are trying to get to know you as a person to see if you are going to excel your senior year and if you would really fit with one of their colleges,” she said. “But then when you fill out the finalist application, it is more like, ‘Are you the right fit for us?’”

There were also some “random” questions on the finalist application, she said, such as, “what are your favorite movies?” and “What is your favorite thing to do on a Tuesday night?” They forward the application on to all of the participating colleges, and the student ranks their top 12 choices. Rawlings matched with her ninth choice.

Rawlings received her Grinnell financial aid package recently and said it is roughly $62,000 a year to attend. Of that $58,000 is covered by the scholarship, $2,000 will be covered through work study, and the rest will be covered through a Pell Grant.

“So they factor in your other scholarships, and the more scholarships you have, the more it takes away from the work study you have to do,” Rawlings said, adding that her Distinguished Young Women’s scholarship will be deducted from the $2,000.

As a copy editor for the school newspaper, the Cedar Post, Rawlings said she enjoys writing. For that reason, Rawlings plans to become a high school English teacher, and said she was inspired by her SHS English teachers, particularly Barbara Crumb and Pam Webb.

“It’s just so interesting what they do, and it’s interesting to see how they inspire other students — I really want to do that, too,” she said.

In addition to the Cedar Post, Rawlings is a member of the SHS Key Club and the National Honor Society, as well as the mentor program last year. For community service, Rawlings said she does a lot of work with her youth group out of Coeur d’Alene, volunteering at soup kitchens, making baskets for food banks, and helping out at hospitals. Also, before moving to Sandpoint, she participated in fashion and art clubs her freshman year at her former school.

Rawlings is the oldest of nine children, and she and her family moved to Sandpoint her sophomore year to be closer to her grandmother, who lives in Coeur d’Alene. Rawlings said she “really loves” Sandpoint and when she picked colleges, she actually chose schools that were in smaller towns.

SHS postsecondary counselor Jeralyn Mire said she was most impressed with all the “hard work” Rawlings put into the QuestBridge scholarship throughout her junior and senior years at SHS.

“What I appreciate the most about this lovely young woman is that she really took to heart the feedback that QuestBridge gave her, and she really paid attention to reviewing her essays and how she wrote her essays,” Mire said, adding that Rawlings spent hours upon hours revising and revamping those essays. “And she really paid attention and listened to what they were looking for — I think she is just wonderful.”

Information: questbridge.org

Mary Malone can be reached by email at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.