Senior Jasmine Carranza Earns QuestBridge Scholarhip

by Julie Brumbach '14

Senior Jasmine Carranza has earned a prestigious QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship, securing a full ride to Colorado College this fall. The scholarship recognizes high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds and includes tuition, room and board, and other college expenses.

Carranza said the opportunity is a dream come true — one made possible by the support she found at Marian.

“Without the help of the faculty and staff here, especially Mr. Ascher (Marian's dedicated college counselor), this would have been a whole lot harder. Marian really prepared me to put together a strong application with letters of recommendation.” 

With Ascher’s guidance, Carranza joined the QuestBridge college prep program, which helped her navigate the rigorous QuestBridge application process. Her efforts paid off with a placement at Colorado College, where she plans to major in psychology and focus on mental health.

The path to becoming a QuestBridge Scholar is competitive - Carranza was one of over 25,500 applicants to this year’s program. She advanced to one of 7,288 finalists to be considered for a match. QuestBridge’s 52 college partner schools matched with 2,627 finalists, who are recognized as Match Scholarship Recipients. 

These outstanding high school seniors have an average unweighted GPA of 3.94, and 92% are in the top 10% of their graduating class. The majority of this year’s Match Scholarship Recipients — 83% — are among the first generation in their families to attend a four-year college in the United States.

Carranza’s determination traces back to her earliest school days. In third grade, she watched an eighth-grade classmate receive a scholarship to Marian and made a quiet promise to herself.

“I said to myself, ‘That’s where I’m going to go to high school,’” she recalls. 

Five years later, that dream became a reality. In eighth grade, she received her own Marian scholarship — in front of a lunchroom full of Marian students. She said she instantly felt welcome.

Now, she’s part of a family legacy of achievement. Her brother is currently a sophomore Loyola Scholar at Creighton Prep and thriving there. Their mother is Carranza's biggest source of inspiration for her determination and drive. For many years, she was a single parent and worked multiple jobs to support them and made sure they had a good education.

Carranza hopes to attain her psychology degree to support others’ mental health, carrying her Marian values with her as she begins this next chapter.