Four TeenSHARP Seniors Earn Full, Four-Year Scholarships to Top Colleges Through QuestBridge WILMINGTON, DE – December 12, 2025 – As seniors across the country are applying to colleges, four TeenSHARP scholars have secured full, four-year scholarships to some of the nation’s most selective colleges through the prestigious QuestBridge National College Match Program.
This year, more than 25,000 high school students nationwide applied to the highly competitive program, which allows students to apply Early Decision to top institutions and match in a binding agreement with their highest-ranked choice. Of the 7,288 finalists, only 2,550 students nationwide received Match Scholarship offers.
Atinuke Aminu, a senior at MOT Charter School in Delaware, will join her sister, Bolu Aminu, at Stanford University, which admits just 4 percent of applicants and has an average annual cost of $93,000. This marks a longstanding TeenSHARP tradition of siblings earning full scholarships to the same elite university.
Fatma Darilmaz, a senior at Laurel High School and a Gates Foundation Scholarship Semi-Finalist, was admitted to Colorado College, a highly selective institution that admits fewer than 15 percent of applicants.
Austin Jalloh, a senior at Hume Fogg High School in Tennessee, will attend Vanderbilt University this fall as a QuestBridge Match Scholar, planning to major in Economics with minors in Business and Music Composition.
Mariya Tinch, a senior at Nash-Rocky Mount Early College High School in North Carolina, earned her place at Yale University, where only 4 percent of students are admitted.
“Atinuke, Fatma, Austin, and Mariya are the living proof of what happens when we invest in talented, high-achieving young leaders,” said Tatiana Poladko, Co-Founder and Chief Program Officer of TeenSHARP. “I am beyond thrilled for each of our 2025 QuestBridge recipients as they step foot onto the campuses of these world-class institutions, ready to access the social capital, academic rigor, and intellectual growth they deserve.”
While many top universities have seen declines in Black, Latino, and low-income student enrollment, TeenSHARP students continue to break barriers, securing admission to elite colleges with exceptional financial aid packages.
Over the years, TeenSHARP has helped countless students earn transformative QuestBridge matches to some of the nation’s most selective colleges. TeenSHARP alumni like Guadalupe Castaneda-Hernandez from Newark High School in Delaware, who matched with Princeton University, Melisa Velasquez-Zunun from Sussex Central High School in Delaware, who matched with Swarthmore College, Namyanzi Edwards from Connecticut’s Academy of Aerospace and Engineering, who earned a Match with Columbia University, and Ryan Grullon from Beacon High School in New York, who secured his Match with Emory University, exemplify this tradition, along with many more.
Atinuke, Fatma, Austin, and Mariya will have the cost of tuition, housing, meals, books, supplies, and travel over all four years of attendance covered by the scholarship.
About QuestBridge
QuestBridge is a national nonprofit organization that connects high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds with a thriving community and transformative educational, career, and life opportunities that help propel them to lives of fulfillment, meaning, and purpose. From QuestBridge’s founding over 30 years ago, the organization has always focused on creating opportunities for students from low-income backgrounds, regardless of race, geography, or academic interest.
About TeenSHARP
TeenSHARP is a national nonprofit that prepares Black, Latino, and low-income students to attend and thrive at America’s top colleges with little or no debt. Founded in 2009 by Atnre Alleyne and Tatiana Poladko, TeenSHARP has evolved into a leading provider of innovative, at-scale college access and leadership development. Year after year, 100 percent of TeenSHARP scholars successfully pursue a 4-year college education, with 95 percent admitted to the most selective colleges; and the majority graduating with $15,000 or less in college debt. TeenSHARP’s mission is in service of a bold vision that, one day, the diversity of our country’s top jobs and most influential leadership positions will reflect the country’s rich diversity.
Media Contact: Lisa-Marie Jackson
lisamarie@sociableconsulting.com
302-252-1773
