Meet Cristian Aguilar, a senior in the International Baccalaureate Program at Coral Gables Senior High and Questbridge Scholarship recipient. Senior year comes with college applications along with many other stresses that arise towards the end of high school. However, Aguilar managed the scholarship search anxiety by starting early in his junior year. His college application journey has led him to an acceptance at Stanford and the scholarship that Questbridge has rewarded him.

Aguilar found out about QuestBridge while looking for summer programs in his junior year. His dream of going to college out of state was beginning to be squashed as it seemed more difficult to do so. Upon finding QuestBridge, Aguilar felt more confident that he would be able to attend college in a different state of his choosing. The multitude of partner schools were ideal because there was an added benefit of not having to pay the application fee for each school and there were a variety of schools presented that he was interested in applying to. Stanford was particularly appealing to Aguilar because of its History and International relations departments which are both open to him because of the school’s interdisciplinary approach.

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At Gables, Aguilar has been involved with Model United Nations, Speech and Debate, the English Honor Society, Interact and IBHS. Although his involvement varied over the four years, he was engaged in the Coral Gables community outside of school as Secretary of the Coral Gables Museum Project, Secretary of the Miami-Dade Teen Democrats, a volunteer at the Coral Gables Hospital, a contributor to the mural at Crystal Academy and a tutor at Spanish Meets You. In addition to this community service, Aguilar volunteered at the Lotus House Women’s Shelter and became involved with Fridays for Future Miami.

“Listing it makes it seem like I did a lot, but I didn’t. Trust me I didn’t” senior Cristian Aguilar said.

To any juniors starting to search for scholarships, Aguilar recommends “seeking out someone supportive in your life to have your back throughout the college application process,” .

Instead of worrying about a balance between everything, he did what he had to do when he had to do it. His attitude of getting things done has contributed to his admission into Stanford and brought him to the QuestBridge scholarship. Although there are many challenges in high school, it is important to know your limits but not be afraid to push them. By developing interests and understanding how you can contribute to your community, those applying to colleges at the moment can write better supplements that will positively impact their admission.

Although this process was very tumultuous and time consuming, Aguilar is grateful for the opportunity Questbridge has provided and is thrilled by his acceptance into the incredible school that is Stanford.