Congratulations on a fantastic high school performance! If you are motivated to continue pursuing your academic journey at the highest level, collaborating with the brightest minds from across the country and world, then this opportunity is for you. As you have come to understand, college—including the application process—is expensive. For example, the application fee at Stanford University for first-year applicants is $90.

The Aspire Fund was created to mitigate these fees: for students looking to pursue their undergraduate degree at one of the most selective institutions in the country. Maybe you dream to follow in Noah Schnapp's footsteps at the University of Pennsylvania or dream to attend Boston University's world-renowned biomedical engineering program; either way, with the Aspire Fund, you can apply to both without the worry of the mounting application fees. 

The Fund covers the application fees for up to two (2) applications per student, intended to recognize and reward students who strive to continue to push the bounds of their academic journey beyond Cloquet. The Fund's focus is on applying to your "dream" school. When you are researching universities and applying to college, the terms "safety" school and "dream" school are often thrown around. But what do they mean exactly? 

What is a "dream" school?

If getting in and paying for college were not issues, where would you want to attend? A dream school is a college where your academic credentials fall in the lower end, or even below, the school's average range for the cohort of students accepted the previous year. Dream schools might be long shots, but they should still be possible. Do not let the price of a financial reach school scare you off! Financial need, academic strength, and a college's desire to have you on campus can all influence your financial aid award and make the cost of attendance more manageable, or even free!

A "reach" school, or "dream" school, is a college where your profile falls within the range of accepted students. It means you have less than a 30% chance of being admitted with your profile. This school should challenge you to do your best in your remaining semesters of high school, push you to create an outstanding and holistic application, and have more exclusive acceptance criteria than your "safety" or "target" school. You should not rely on being accepted to this school while planning your applications, but you should still try your best in your applications.

In addition to schools with higher criteria than are met by a student's profile, a "dream" school can also apply to students with a 'perfect' student profile who are looking to apply to prestigious schools like Harvard or MIT. Every year, thousands of students applying to these schools have an ideal profile, such as a 4.0 GPA, various leadership and extracurricular activities, and high test scores; however, they may not get accepted due to the intense competition and low acceptance rates.

Want to explore the opportunities?

Attached, is the list of qualifying top colleges and universities.