The University of Notre Dame is proud to partner with QuestBridge, a nonprofit organization that matches high-achieving, low-income students with scholarships and educational opportunities at 55 selective partner colleges and universities across the country.
Notre Dame is dedicated to providing qualified students with a diverse array of backgrounds, talents, and interests the opportunity for an unparalleled educational experience. If you are a high school senior who has demonstrated outstanding academic ability despite financial challenges, consider applying via QuestBridge.
Notre Dame will receive the QuestBridge application and related documents for QuestBridge Finalists who choose to apply. For a list of other required materials that are due by November 1 (for National College Match candidates) or January 4 (for Regular Decision candidates), please visit Notre Dame’s Application Requirements page of the QuestBridge website.
Please note that there is no application fee to apply to Notre Dame through QuestBridge, and QuestBridge applicants are not required to submit the Common Application or Coalition Application.
The Notre Dame QuestBridge Supplement will be accessible in your applicant status portal upon our receipt of your QuestBridge application. All QuestBridge applicants will be asked to respond to each of the following two questions. The word count is a maximum of 150 words per response.
Everyone has different priorities when considering their higher education options and building their college or university list. Tell us about your non-negotiable factor(s) when searching for your future college home.
Notre Dame’s undergraduate experience is characterized by a collective sense of care for every person. How do you foster service to others in your community?
ND QuestBridge Community
When you enroll at Notre Dame, you join a community of students with diverse backgrounds and interests. Here, you'll find the support you need to explore your passions and flourish academically, socially, and spiritually.
"I applied to schools through QuestBridge because of the commitment the partner schools have in ensuring a quality education to students who cannot afford it. The larger community of QuestBridge students, not just those at Notre Dame, appealed to me because of the support system available."
Jackie Lomeli '22, Dallas, TX
Aerospace Engineering
"Being admitted to Notre Dame as a QuestBridge student has allowed me to join an amazing community of people from which I have learned a lot and from which I will continue learning more. There are so many people who don’t reach their full potential not for lack of ability or effort, but because of a lack of opportunity. QuestBridge stands as that link between capability and opportunity. I feel myself growing into the person I know I can be thanks in part to the opportunities QuestBridge has awarded to me."
Joseph Nwanebo '20, Milwaukee, WI
IT Management, Linguistics minor
"When my guidance counselor described the QuestBridge program, it seemed too good to be true. Applying to schools was hard, especially with the heavy weight of financial concerns and having no idea where to begin. QuestBridge helped me through the application process and showed me the schools that were willing to work with students with a hope for higher education but with serious financial concerns. It was amazing to see the list of schools that were on the list making the statement that, if we were accepted, we wouldn’t have to worry about how we could afford cost of attendance."
Emily de Araujo Snider '14, Troy, MI
Mechanical Engineering and Psychology Account Manager, Magna International
Questions about the QuestBridge process?
Visit the QuestBridge website to learn about the process and important dates and deadlines for applying to the National College Match. If you have questions about applying to Notre Dame through QuestBridge that aren’t answered in the FAQs below, please direct your questions to the admissions office.
Should I use the QuestBridge application, the Common Application, or the Coalition Application?
Notre Dame does not prefer one application over another, and we employ the same selection criteria regardless of which application a student has chosen. However, you should not submit multiple applications - you must choose either the QuestBridge Application, the Common Application, or the Coalition Application.
If I am selected as a QuestBridge Finalist but did not rank Notre Dame, can I still apply to Notre Dame through QuestBridge?
A QuestBridge Finalist who did not rank Notre Dame and was not matched to another QuestBridge partner school may still choose to apply through QuestBridge Regular Decision. Submission of the QuestBridge Regular Decision Form does not complete your application. Please refer to our application requirements for more information.
If I am admitted through Restrictive Early Action or Regular Decision but not selected as a QuestBridge Match Scholar, what type of financial aid offer will I receive?
Notre Dame is committed to meeting 100 percent of your demonstrated financial need. Our experience is that the decisions are very similar to the financial aid offers of our Matched Scholars. The difference is that your financial aid offer will be based upon the estimated cost of your books rather than the actual cost of books and you will not automatically receive scholarship to pay for the cost of health insurance.
If I am not matched with Notre Dame, is the Restrictive Early Action deadline binding?
Notre Dame’s Restrictive Early Action deadline is non-binding. Typically, applying Restrictive Early Action to Notre Dame means that a student may not apply to any college or university in their binding Early Decision program. QuestBridge College Match applicants are exempt from this rule leading up to the match since many partner schools, including Notre Dame, have binding matches. If you are not matched to Notre Dame or any other partner schools, you may have the option to enter some schools’ binding Early Decision deadlines. If you plan to do this, we request that you inform us that you’d like to move your application to Regular Decision by December 2, 2022 in order to abide by Notre Dame’s Restrictive Early Action policy.
If I am a Finalist and rank Notre Dame but do not match to Notre Dame, when will I receive an admission decision?
All Finalists who rank Notre Dame and have submitted a complete application for admission will receive a Restrictive Early Action decision in mid-December. If you are not matched to Notre Dame and would prefer to have your application reviewed in Regular Decision, contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at admissions@nd.edu by December 2, 2022. Be sure to use the email address listed on your QuestBridge application, and include your QuestBridge ID number.
How do I receive access to Notre Dame’s applicant status portal?
QuestBridge applicants to Notre Dame will receive an application acknowledgement email two to three days after QuestBridge applications are available to us. The email will include instructions for establishing your Notre Dame applicant status portal account.
You will be able to view the following in your Notre Dame applicant status portal:
Your application checklist (including a link to the Notre Dame QuestBridge Supplement)
Your admission decision
Financial aid information
College Match Finalists who have ranked Notre Dame will receive their email with instructions for accessing the applicant status portal in mid- to late-October. Regular Decision Finalists and non-Finalists will receive their email in mid- to late-December.
The Notre Dame QuestBridge Supplement is an electronic form required of all QuestBridge applicants to Notre Dame. The form will be available as a link in a student’s Notre Dame applicant status portal as a required checklist item. All QuestBridge Match candidates, Regular Decision Finalists, and non-Finalists will need to complete the Notre Dame QuestBridge Supplement to finalize their application.
The Notre Dame QuestBridge Supplement includes a short-answer essay question, which should be answered in approximately 150 words:
The founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Blessed Basil Moreau, wrote, “We shall always place education side by side with instruction; the mind will not be cultivated at the expense of the heart.” How do you hope a Notre Dame education and experience will transform your mind and heart?
Once Notre Dame has received your application from QuestBridge for the College Match, you will receive an application acknowledgement email from Notre Dame with instructions on accessing your applicant status portal. Once you log in, you will be able to access and complete the Notre Dame QuestBridge Supplement. When you have completed all of the required items in your applicant checklist, you will receive a final communication from our office via email stating that your application is complete and ready for review.
How many students will be matched to Notre Dame through QuestBridge?
The number of Notre Dame's QuestBridge matches varies from year to year depending on the applicant pool. Please keep in mind that many QuestBridge Finalists who are not matched to Notre Dame are still admitted through Restrictive Early Action or Regular Decision.
How does the QuestBridge College Match process work at Notre Dame?
All students who are selected as QuestBridge Finalists and rank Notre Dame will be considered in our Restrictive Early Action cycle. Notre Dame will review all complete applications and select students for the College Match Scholarship. The National College Match Program is binding for Notre Dame.
If a student with a complete application is not matched to Notre Dame or any other QuestBridge partner school, he or she will receive a Restrictive Early Action decision from Notre Dame in mid-December.
