I am a high school senior and I am currently beginning the college application process for early admissions. I live in North Carolina but am undocumented. I was originally born in Peru. I am planning to apply to Harvard for my private school choice for early admission and for public school I’m planning to apply to NC State, Chapel Hill, Apalachian, and UNCC. I had a few questions pertaining to my situation.
Should I use my experience as an undocumented student in my essay, or would that be best left out?
What financial aid would best help me pay for college. I have social security through DACA and was wondering if I would be able to use that for FAFSA.
is my status a detriment to my chances of entering college?
Is there anyone who is in my situation and has already entered college who can guide me a bit and answer some questions?
I’m truly worried that my status would hinder my chances of going to college and truly appreciate any comments.
Thank you.
You should search “undocumented students” at each of the schools you are interested. Each school will have its own policy. If you search a college and come up with nothing, that may mean it will be more difficult for you.
I would also google “undocumented students college” because some colleges really go out of their way to embrace undocumented students, so you want to check out any colleges that pop up.
I have a friend who is undocumented and was not eligible for financial aid (I think she was considered an international student), but you should look into different private scholarships and funds for undocumented students if the colleges you’re looking at say you are not eligible
If you have DACA, that gives your ID, and DL at any states. If you are unfortunately undocumented without DACA, you can still fly domestic with valid passport from your nationality country, or get a state ID / DL from one of following states;
Interesting, thank you. Hawaii and Washington sound like the best deal,
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I am in CA and CA is pretty good too.
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they do not review visas if you use a passport as ID.
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Visa is supposed for CBP to review when you enter U.S. from a foreign country, although it’s not always true at some Southern border towns.
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think anyone who attended high school for all 4 years and whose parents pay taxes should have the same access to FAFSA as everyone else. It is too bad that children are punished for a situation they cannot control
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They do have access to FAFSA, just not federal support. They can have in-state tuition and many universities offer scholarships. But yes. I personally agree. At least now some of them have DACA. Although, I think it is a good idea to stay with technicality and not touch the politics here.
Hello, as a current DACA scholar and for your financial aid question I recommend looking into the Dream.US scholarship which is for DACA students, it pretty much pays for your entire undergrad tuition if you get it but the only catch is you have to go to one of their partner colleges. Here’s a link if you’re interested I think apps open in September → http://www.thedream.us/
Hey, Unfortunately, you won’t receive any federal aid. There are some private scholarships out there. For instance, check out these two:
-http://www.goldendoorscholars.org/ (application deadline is in Oct i believe)
-http://www.thedream.us/