Time Scavengers

Maggie here-

I recently had the opportunity to work with high school students and like many high schoolers, everyone was nervously discussing AP (advanced placement) classes that they were taking, when the next ACT or SAT test day was, and of course, what colleges everyone was looking at. For several of those students, thinking about college brought up questions about their immigration status in this country and what resources were available to them to help finance their education. I felt honored that these students felt comfortable enough to ask me for help finding these resources and I wanted to share with others some of the resources that I have found.

FAFSA + State Aid + In-State Tuition:

FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid) is the most annoying and painful online form that ultimately results in loans from the Department of Education to help pay for school. If you have DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) status, you are eligible to apply for FAFSA. However, even if you don’t have DACA status and are an undocumented student, you may be eligible to apply for state aid in certain states. In at least six states (California, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington) you are able to apply for state aid.

In-State tuition varies from state to state, but thankfully there are good graphics and readily available lists of the states that are currently allowing in-state tuition. This can be a big issue for students because if you aren’t getting in-state tuition, often the school then has you pay international tuition, which is significantly more expensive. Like applying for state aid, these in-state tuition states do require residency in those states, and some of those states have an application that needs to be filled out in order to be considered for in-state tuition.

Click here for more information about FAFSA + State Aid + In-State Tuition

Private Scholarships:

Privately funded scholarships are also an option and a quick Google search will bring up more than I have included here. Like with any scholarships though, there are applications (and sometimes other supplemental materials) with strict deadlines, so looking sooner rather than later is to your benefit! Some of these scholarships do require you to go to specific schools or be a resident of specific states, so make sure to look at the fine print and all eligibility requirements before applying!

Scholarships:

Golden Door Scholars
The Dream
Scholarships for DREAMers

Tennessee specific scholarships:
Equal Chance for Education

Other Resources:

Applying to and attending college as an undocumented student can come with a very different set of challenges placed on top of the usual nerves of going away to school. The website My Undocumented Life has blog posts and articles written by other undocumented students about all kinds of life situations that are different or challenging because of immigration status. I will also say that Twitter can be a very valuable resource to anyone looking for scholarships, financial aid, or any questions about college as an undocumented student. If you search hashtags like #undocumented, #DACA, #Dreamers, #UndocuSTEM, or if you tweet asking for help looking for resources using those hashtags, other students who have gone through similar situations already are likely to respond and help you out or provide advice!

From the perspective of a teacher, I will also say that if you have a teacher, guidance counselor, or another person that you trust to share this information with and ask for help, we want to help you. Every person who wants an education deserves access to that education and at least in my case, I will continue to help anyone and everyone who needs help finding a way to make that happen!