Its goal is to connect low-income and first-generation students with partner colleges and universities.

[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] In 1987, Stanford University students Marc Lawrence and Michael McCullough started the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program as an outreach program for eight low-income students from East Palo Alto who were interested in a future in medicine.

[8] Although they initially expanded to include Harvard University, this program ended by 2002 as the focus returned to Stanford.

[8] According to the Columbia Daily Spectator in 2021, QuestBridge's goal is to match "high school students with a full-ride offer of admission from one of its 45 partner universities.

Targeting students based on data from admissions tests and networks of guidance counselors, QuestBridge aims to reach high-achieving students well before the typical January application deadlines, offering mentoring programs that make the admissions process—which traditionally advantages wealthy students—more accessible for low-income applicants.