Going to College: Barriers and Opportunities for Undocumented Students

Undocumented children are allowed to go to grade school and high school. After graduation from high school, undocumented students face possible legal and financial barriers to going to college.  There are three things to think when deciding to college here in the United States: 1) Getting accepted into a college; 2) Tuition and 3) Financial help.

Getting into College

Do not assume that you can't go to college in the United States.  There is no federal law that says you can't go to a public or private U.S. college.  There are no laws that require students to prove their U.S. citizenship in order to go to college.  What usually is that once a person is accepted into the university, the office sends the student an I-20 form to process at the consulate office in his/her native country.  This will help the student get a visa. Unfortunately, if the student is already in the country illegally, the student is not eligible for this student visa.  There are some college policies (rules) that require the student to prove the student is in the United States legally like citizenship, permanent residency or some other visa. This is not a law.  Some colleges accept undocumented students but treat them as out of state students or foreign students and therefore charge them the much higher out of state tuition.  Some states will charge undocumented students the much cheaper "in state" tuition if the student can prove they went to high school in the same state they are applying for college.  

Tuition

Some states allow undocumented students to pay the cheaper in state tuition.  See the attached "Repository Resources for Undocumented Students" for a list of states that undocumented students can pay in state tuition rates.

Undocumented students cannot receive federally funded financial aid which includes loans, grants or scholarships or work study money.  Most states also do not allow undocumented students state funded financial aid. Many private scholarships also make it hard for undocumented students to get financial aid.  Many private scholarships make it hard for undocumented to get financial aid.  Private organizations have their own rules. Some give scholarships to undocumented students.

More Information:

Check if you are eligible to stay in the United States under DACA: link     Informacion sobre DACA en espanol: Link     Be careful about fraud when seeking Immigration legal help: Link Scholarships: Chicago Community College scholarships: http://www.illinoisdreamfund.org