Illegal Immigrant Financial Aid

<p>Just wondering this for a college class project.
How would an Illegal Immigrant be able to attend college? I believe they are not allowed to get any federal grants, if that's so then it'd be impossible for them to pay for a decent college.</p>

<p>Undocumented alien is probably the preferred term.</p>

<p>By and large, these students would fall into the same category as international students - eligible for institutional aid, but not eligible for federal aid. Since there are any number of institutions that award aid to international students (I believe Harvard is among them), the problem is not so much access to money, as it is to information about colleges/universities themselves, and to opportunities to develop the kind of academic record that will bring these students to the attention of the colleges/universities. The deck is stacked against these students long before they even get to the money issue.</p>

<p>By the same token, assume for the sake of argument the student in in SoCal; there are many UCs & CSUs & CCs that a student could attend whilst living at home. Living expenses are way more than tuition at a UC/CSU. Therefore they could possibly get merit aid, or work and save to cover tuition which may be billed at in state rates.</p>

<p>^^yup, those in Calif attend the local UC or Cal State, often times after transferring from a community college. There are probably only a handful of colleges that are both need-blind to undocumenteds (just like internationals) and provide full financial aid. Harvard & Princeton do, for example. Stanford does not provide full finaid to internationals, but unsure about instate undocumenteds...</p>

<p>What if they live in new jersey or they got accepted into stanford, harvard or carnegie mellon?</p>

<p>living in NJ, they could still attend the local state school and life at home; there's enough that most are in driving distance to at least one school. Couldn't get gov aid, but a good job in summer and during school year could cover most costs; or, again, they could do a CC first for less money, save money then for two years at the local state.</p>

<p>Stanford, et al, would depend on what institutional aid the school would give.</p>

<p>It seems to me Harvard and Stanford will do what's necessary for you to attend if admitted. To the poster that said Stanford doesn't meet full need for internationals, I'm pretty sure you're wrong-Stanford is need-aware for internationals but meets full need if admitted. I'm not sure about CMU, but I know they offer need based scholarships. However, it is going to be extremely difficult to be admitted to H and S and CMU is still a reach for most. You could go to Rutgers, but to be honest, you may be requested to pay the full price for Rutgers because as an international you may not be eligible for FA from a state school. You may want to double check this because there was an issue at my hs about this. I would also look into private schools that give huge merit scholarship amounts. Instate and out of state doesn't matter for private schools like Harvard and Stanford. Hope this helps!</p>

<p>here is what Carnegie Mellon says about international students and FA</p>

<p>
[quote]
**If you are an international student who plans to enroll at the university, you and your family must assume the total cost of a Carnegie Mellon education. Financial aid is not available to undergraduate international students. **Undergraduate international students are also not eligible to participate in monthly payment plans. Additionally, international students are not eligible for application fee waivers. The comprehensive cost for 2008-2009 is $53,945. </p>

<p>International</a> Students</p>

<p>

[/quote]
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<p>Your family would have to pay full freight to attend CMU.</p>

<p>If I remember correctly, Stanford is not need blind to international students so your ability to pay will be a factor in the admissions process.</p>

<p>Harvard is need blind to international students, but the hardest part will be getting accepted as the admissions rate is in the single digits.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Undocumented alien is probably the preferred term.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Do drug dealers also prefer being called "undocumented pharmacists" for their "undocumented drugs" they are selling?</p>

<p>Illegal immigrants should not be eligible for government aid.</p>

<p>In New Mexico, undocumented aliens who graduate from an accredited NM high school may attend any NM public college or university at in-state rates. </p>

<p>Additionally they are eligible for the NM Lottery Scholarship which pays 100% of in-state tuition for all NM high school grads who have a 2.5-3.0 cumulative GPA at graduation (actual GPA depends upon which university the student attends as requirements vary by school) and matriculate in an accedited public university or college the same year they graduate. The Lottery Scholarship may be used at any of the community colleges and any of the state universities.</p>

<p>Since most illegals come from countries where their opportunities are limited, I'm thinking that most would probably be happy attending State U or even the local community college. It's not like they're here illegally because of the excellent chance they had to attend university back home.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Do drug dealers also prefer being called "undocumented pharmacists" for their "undocumented drugs" they are selling?</p>

<p>Illegal immigrants should not be eligible for government aid.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>While that quote was hilarious it was also wrong.
Illegal immigrants pay as much taxes as any of you do. Just because there is a few that don't doesn't mean that they should all have their names smudged.</p>

<p>At least they should allow loans to them.</p>

<p>So what you guys are saying is that if a student were to be accepted into stanford and let's say their parents made 40k per year and they made nothing would they get in free?</p>

<p>The operative word is if. If the student is accepted, then yes, Stanford will meet 100% of their demonstrated need.</p>

<p>However, for an international student, the amount of the school's resources they need **is a factor ** in the admissions decsion. So an international student needing al ot of the schools resources is at a disadvantage.</p>

<p>I know an illegal immigrant here in Florida who I believe is paying out-of-state fees to attend a local community college--with no aid, that's for sure. He works to pay for it. His case is an especially sad one as he came here at the age of 2 (is now about 20): he's quite American, and it's a real shame this hasn't been acknowledged. My guess is the costs would be too prohibitive to enter a 4-year college if he can't become legalized by the time he would transfer.</p>

<p>Illegal immigrants are treated just as international students as that is truly what they are without legal status in the US. A big difference is that some states are allowing ANY student who can meet alternative standards for living state residency can qualify for in state rates for tuition. This varies from state to state, but in NY, the standard is proof of having lived in NY for the last three years.</p>

<p>Illegal Immigrants is the proper term unless you are a bleeding hear liberal who would rather see the illegals welcomed with open arms and citizenship ready...</p>

<p>Yes, I believe that in Washington, illegal immigrants qualify for in-state tuition, but people from Oregon don't. Where's the sense in that? I mean, they are illegal. I personally don't feel they have any place in state universities.</p>

<p>Ooh, ooh, that's me! I'm a "a bleeding hear liberal who would rather see the illegals welcomed with open arms and citizenship ready". Do I get any brownie points?</p>

<p>You can have my portion of the tax bill when it comes due... Illegals should receive zero tax dollars. Technically they don't exist.</p>

<p>Perhaps it depends on one's view of the children of illegals as innocent or guilty, and if you think our society would be better off educating the smart ones to become more productive, or if we're better off keeping them in the uneducated shadows.</p>