Beyond the binding senior-year Match itself, QuestBridge's partner colleges run a second, separate kind of opportunity worth knowing about: a fall fly-in program, an expenses-paid visit to campus for high school seniors who might not otherwise be able to afford the trip. QuestBridge doesn't run these -- each partner college designs, reviews, and decides its own -- but QuestBridge maintains a running list of them as a resource, and it's worth treating as its own real opportunity, separate from the Match application itself.
What a fly-in program actually is
The mechanics are consistent even though every college runs its own version: a high school senior applies directly to a specific college's program, and if selected, that college covers some or all of the cost to fly (or otherwise travel) to campus, stay overnight, and take part in a multi-day visit -- sessions with admissions staff, current students, and often academic departments. It's built specifically for students, frequently first-generation or low-income, for whom a self-funded campus visit wouldn't otherwise be realistic. Selection is entirely up to the individual college, and getting in is not guaranteed just because a student is a QuestBridge applicant.
The Fall 2026 list, by application deadline
QuestBridge's own resource page lists 26 partner colleges running a fly-in program for Fall 2026, each with its own name, deadline, and visit dates:
| College Partner | Fly-In Program | Application Deadline | Program Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton College | Home at Hamilton | July 7 | September 27-28 |
| Swarthmore College | Discover Swarthmore | July 7 | Sept 24-26 / Oct 22-24 |
| Holy Cross | Perspectives Overnight Program | July 6 / September 16 | Sept 26-28 / Nov 7-9 |
| Columbia University | The STARS Fly-In for Rural Students | July 20 | October 17-19 |
| Colorado College | Discover Colorado College | July 13 | October 3-5 |
| Tufts University | Voices of Tufts | July 27 | Sept 27 (virtual) / Oct 18 |
| Emory University | Emory LEADs | July 31 | October 1-3 |
| Williams College | Windows on Williams (WOW) | August 1 | October 4-6 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Weekend Immersion in Science & Engineering (WISE) | August 1 | October 4-6 |
| Washington and Lee University | PATH to W&L | August 2 | Sept 20-22 / Sept 27-29 |
| Wesleyan University | WesExplore | August 3 | October 4-6 |
| Barnard College | Barnard Bound | August 8 | October |
| California Institute of Technology | Caltech Up Close | August 9 | October 10-12 |
| Claremont McKenna College | CMC Fall Preview Program | August 9 | October 11-13 |
| Pomona College | Perspectives on Pomona (POP) | Aug 10 (on-campus) / Sept 28 (virtual) | Oct 4-6 / Oct 22 & 24 |
| University of Richmond | Access Richmond | August 10 | September 18-19 |
| Bowdoin College | Explore Bowdoin | August 11 | Sept 17-19 / Oct 22-24 |
| Denison University | Destination: Denison | August 17 | October 4-6 |
| Haverford College | Have-A-Look | August 17 | October 25-27 |
| Bates College | Prologue to Bates | August 7 | October 11-13 |
| Amherst College | Access to Amherst (A2A) | August 10 | September 26-28 |
| Smith College | Women of Distinction Program | September 11 | Oct 16-17 / Nov 6-7 |
| Boston University | Boston University Overnight | September 20 | October 22-23 |
| Middlebury College | Discover Middlebury | September 4 | October 11-13 |
| Davidson College | Access Davidson | October 15 | November 8 |
| Grinnell College | Virtual Grinnell Diversity Preview Program | Late summer 2026 | See website |
Why the list looks selective, and why that's not the whole picture
Only 26 of QuestBridge's 55 partner colleges appear on this list -- and QuestBridge says directly that this isn't necessarily a complete count of every fly-in opportunity across its partners. A college's absence here doesn't confirm it has no such program; it may run one QuestBridge simply hasn't listed, or one findable only by checking that college's own admissions site directly. Treat this table as a confirmed starting point, not the full universe of what's available.
What this means for you
- Apply to more than one, even with overlapping dates. QuestBridge's own guidance says explicitly to apply to every program you're interested in, since being selected for any single one isn't guaranteed.
- Check each college's own site for the authoritative deadline. QuestBridge states plainly that official dates come from the college partner directly, not from its own summary table -- confirm before you plan around a date here.
- Don't assume a school's absence from this list means no fly-in program exists. If a partner college you're interested in isn't above, check that school's own admissions site before ruling it out.
- A fly-in selection is separate from Match eligibility or College Prep Scholars status. Being invited to visit a campus doesn't affect, and isn't decided by, your standing in either QuestBridge program.