Five graduating seniors at Uncommon Schools in Brooklyn are the recipients of the 2025 QuestBridge National College Match, which connects high-achieving high school seniors from low-income backgrounds with full four-year scholarships to the nation’s top colleges.
These students were selected from 2,550 finalists and more than 20,000 applicants this year. This scholarship covers tuition, housing, travel, and books, totaling about $325,000.
“Full four-year scholarships like these are extraordinarily rare, and to see five of our seniors earn them in the same year is truly remarkable,” said Patrick Rametti, Sr. Director of College Counseling at Uncommon Schools.
“This achievement reflects years of hard work, resilience, and determination by these students, as well as the unwavering support of their families and educators. We could not be prouder of them,” Rametti said.
Uncommon Schools’ college counselors focus on finding the best financial, academic, and cultural fit for students who pay less than $5,000 per year for college tuition. The focus on college affordability has enabled Uncommon students to graduate from college at a rate four times that of their peers.
The student-to-counselor ratio is 40:1, which is in line with those of more affluent schools. The low student-to-counselor ratio allows Uncommon juniors to begin receiving hands-on, personalized guidance to help them prepare for college.
Students like Mackenzie Pettiford, who got matched with her top choice, Yale University. Pettiford is a founding member of the Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School’s Debate team, where she said she found her voice.
“Despite often being the only Black woman in the room, debate filled me with confidence,” she said. Her rookie team made it to the state championships last year.
She is still in disbelief that she was accepted to an Ivy League university.
“I am just grateful to be able to go to college and not have to worry whether I can afford it or not,” she said.
Her classmate, Samson Sogbein, is headed to Duke University to study engineering. As a Nigerian immigrant, Sogbein struggled to adapt during his first years but found a community at Uncommon Schools.
“At Uncommon in seventh grade, I found teachers and classmates who understood my experiences,” he said. “Many were Black, and many were immigrants, primarily from the Caribbean, Dominican Republic, and West Africa.”
WATCH this video featuring the moment Uncommon Schools students find out they are QuestBridge Match Scholarship Recipients
Last summer, he participated in Columbia University’s SHAPE program, where he and teammates developed and constructed a three-dimensional, self-sorting recycling bin with an AI-trained camera that detected the material of the waste. Through SHAPE’s college-level engineering courses and workshops, he began dreaming of studying civil engineering, drawn to design and infrastructure.
For Uncommon Charter High School twins Emya and Tatianna Gregg, fate has kept them together in college, as both were matched with Emory University for full-ride scholarships through the QuestBridge Match Scholarship.
Emya Gregg hopes to pursue a nursing/pre-med track to become a pediatric nurse.
“This means so much to us and will help us make sure I am able to pursue my dreams and aspirations,” she said.
Her sister, Tatianna Gregg, will be studying business administration at Emory University, with the hopes of creating a real estate company and a non-profit organization.
“I had a bunch of college counselors who helped guide me through the process who supported me every step of the way and who always encouraged me,” she said. “They made sure that I got all my work done to meet my scholarship deadlines.”
Tatiana Gregg said she is so grateful that her twin has been accepted to the same college.
“We were just so excited because we understood that we didn’t have to be alone and we would be able to talk to each other because we would be on the same campus,” she said.
Ana Toribio, also a senior at Uncommon Charter High School, will be attending Davidson College in the fall of 2026, with the hope of majoring in political science and pursuing a career in family law.
“This scholarship means a lot to my family as I will be the first in my family to attend college, so having all expenses paid makes the journey so much easier for my family,” she said.
Toribio said Uncommon helped her secure the scholarship through a dedicated, supportive team of college counselors who were with her every step of the way and answered her many questions about FAFSA and CSS forms, the primary applications for securing college financial aid. She is grateful to have attended Uncommon Schools.
“At the start of my school career, I was a very timid person; I didn’t advocate for myself when I needed to and didn’t ask for help,” she said. “But since freshman year, I have grown and learned the importance of advocating for myself in school, but also for personal relationships.”
At Uncommon New York City, more students will learn in the coming weeks about their college acceptances, and many more will be offered full-ride scholarships to top colleges.
If you want to start your students’ journey to college today, please go to https://nyc.
