college... YES WE CAN.

Hey guys, I'm about to start the college application process again. I'm applying to schools as a transfer for fall 2010. I wanted to know if anyone here is starting college or transferring between fall 09 and fall 10? Also anyone with our situation who has been through the college process. I see many people have questions about college and it would be nice to hear what some of your experiences are and what advice you have to give. I know during my senior year in HS there's a lot of information I know now that I wish I knew then. I know a lot of us believe that with our status college is completely out of the question. However, it is NOT. I've read so much recently and have learned so much that I wish I had learned all this information before. Many of us find out about our status when we first wanted to apply for a job or were about to start applying for college. We get so discouraged we give school less importance thinking there's no point anymore. When we should be doing the opposite!! Here's a few things i've learned that i found helpful. Feel free to share anything or ask questions!!

1) IF YOU CAN GET IN, YOU CAN AFFORD TO GO. I wish more emphasis was put on this. Many students don't know that if you're accepted, you may be able to attend college regardless of your financial situation. But you should also know this is mainly for Ivy League schools. So slacking in HS is NOT an option.

2) Most of us usually have to apply as international students. Some schools offer no financial aid for an Int'l. student. However, i found this in another forum to be very helpful:

The Best Colleges and Universities
US Schools That Offer Need-Blind Admission to International Students - under a need-blind admissions policy, a college or university will admit students regardless of their ability to pay, and for any students that cannot afford the pricetag, the university awards scholarships and other institutional aid to make up the difference. There are now eight US schools that offer need-blind admissions to international students - Amherst College is the most recent to join this elite group, for school year 2008/2009. Basically, if you can get in, you can afford to go - they are:

1. MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Massachusetts
2. Harvard University in Massachusetts
3. Princeton University in New Jersey
4. Yale University in Connecticut
5. Williams College in Massachusetts
6. Middlebury College in Vermont
7. Dartmouth College in New Hampshire
8. Amherst College in Massachusetts

These schools are most definitely not easy to get into. But I think if you work hard enough, dedicate yourself and truly want it... then why not?

There are also more schools who state they offer both need-blind and full-need* for US students (i believe these don't include internationals): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission

*Needs blinds and full-need financial aid policy--where the school agrees to fund the meet the full demonstrated financial need of all its admitted students.

3) There's scholarships out there for undocumented students.

Another potential source of financial aid is private scholarships. There are a few private scholarships for undocumented students that do not require the student to be a US citizen or resident or have a social security number in order to apply. Information about such scholarships can be found in the FastWeb scholarship search. Other good resources include the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) (see especially the MALDEF List of Scholarships for Undocumented Students and the MALDEF Scholarships) and the Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund.

Another good resource for California students is Latino College Dollars: Scholarships for California's Latino Students. This directory directory includes several scholarships that do not require US citizenship and are available to undocumented students.

To get the links for the places above visit this page:

Financial Aid and Scholarships for Undocumented Students
http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/undocumented.phtml

Hope this information is helpful for those of you with the same/similar situation, those of you with friends in this situation or for family members. Best of luck to everyone!

WOW! This is an awesome thread! Seriously! It is very beneficial for those students that are barely going to apply this year! I wish you the best of luck with the whole transferring application process!

Like you said, most of these schools are very prestigious and very hard to get into, but I know from personal experience that some do sympathize and recognize the undocumented student population. I applied to Dartmouth during my senior year, and I was super surprised when I saw that I got in. My counselor was a good friend with one of the admission officers from Dartmouth College, and one day he called me in to his office. He was talking to this man about me and my situation. It turned out that my background was the KEY to the doors that opened for me at Dartmouth. Really. I was shocked. I thought it might have been a combination of other things, but he straight out told me that the admission officers were impressed at the fact that I was an undocumented student, I had leadership positions, the grades, etc, and I was still applying to an Ivy. He said that most students who are in my situation don't usually apply to schools like that, and most are often afraid to even go to a community college. The fact that we are undocumented is an advantage in some situations, so just keep your head up during high school(DON'T SLACK IT), and make sure that you strive for what you want. You guys can PM me at any time during your application process or whenever you want if you want more info or something =)

Oh! And if you are Canadian or Mexican, some schools WILL give you full financial aid as well. So that helps open some doors too(I know it helped me)!
Peace!

Could you please be more specific with the following statement:
"The fact that we are undocumented is an advantage in some situations..."
How exactly is it an advantage?

Also, with regards to being Canadian or Mexican what forms will a person have to fill out to get full financial aid? And which college?

Sorry, I must be a nuisance with all these questions, but you need to be more specific!

This is great, thank you.

1. I know for a fact that Princeton offers full financial aid for international students. [I got a letter from them, and their catalog explicitly said so.]

2. http://www.fastweb.com is a great source for scholarships that can be open for undocumented students.

3. How can I prove my financial need if my mom does not pay taxes? [currently, she does not have an ITIN number, and has never filed a W-2. I'm applying for colleges and universities this fall, am I screwed?]

Awesome post!

However, you should remove MIT from your list. Although they do provide aid for international students, they don't accept applications from people in our situation. In general, some schools may or may not accept applications from undocumented immigrant students (speaking from personal experience) and MIT is one of them.

"but he straight out told me that the admission officers were impressed at the fact that I was an undocumented student, I had leadership positions, the grades, etc, and I was still applying to an Ivy. He said that most students who are in my situation don't usually apply to schools like that, and most are often afraid to even go to a community college."

It can be an advantage cause they don't see many undocumented students apply to ivy leagues with strong stats and credentials. Like I had said earlier, MOST undocumented student DO NOT apply to ivy leagues. Actually, most don't even attempt to go to college according to the Dartmouth admission officer. So if you take advantage of what you are offered and have great stats, then you are obviously overcoming adversity or a huge obstacle(your status), and that will give u major points for admissions into a top school. Is that a bit more specific for you?

I don't know how many colleges give complete fin. aid to MX or Canadian citizens. I know Cornell does. That's where I'm going cause of that. You can find those forms and guidelines for your application on their fin. aid website: finaid.cornell.edu
good luck.

Cool, thanks guys.
Um, i recently just figured out about all this like a week ago. It really boosts my spirit knowing that i have a higher chance of going to college and one of the best at that. Here i was thinking that i had to stay in Texas to go to college and now i can go to an IVY, man was i ecstatic. I do have a few questions.

1. When applying using the common application, under the SS do i use my ITIN or just leave it blank?
2. How do i show that i am a MX citizen, i have my Birth Certificate but no MX Passport and no VISA's.
3. Is a 4.22 GPA (top 10%), 2200 SAT, 2 700 SAT II, leadership positions, 6 AP's, and +300 hours of community service good enough to have a chance at Ivies and those other 8 listed above.

And if anyone has any advice thats useful then please tell me, i really want and need this to work.

You do seem like the kind of student that took advantage of opportunities during high school, so I'm sure you can do it! Just know that admissions to ivies or any top school is pretty much luck..well to a certain extent cause u r competing against incredibly talented and smart people from around the world, including the US.

1. leave it blank. if it's not a ssn, then don't put it.
2. that should be fine. might need to be translated or something though, depending on the school.
3. i'm sure your chances are super good to get in! seriously!

You don't lose ne thing by just filling out the apps.rejection might hurt a bit, but hope that you will be accepted to all the places you apply to!

I don't think being undocumented really helps you when you apply to colleges. It's never too good to rely on these sob stories for admissions. Most of the time, they just throw you in the international student pile and consider you the same as the others anyway.

1. I think you can leave the SSN portion blank (it's optional I believe). It's mainly used for financial aid.
2. When I applied for school, I didn't show any proof of any citizenship. In the additional information section, I clearly stated that I'm an undocumented immigrant, and that seemed to be enough.
3. You'll be fine. If it's not too late, you should take more AP courses (average student at my school took 9-10) and get perfect SAT II scores because those subject tests are known to be easy (my strong points were math and Korean so I took both and aced them). Your GPA and SAT scores are stellar!

Do you have any interesting hobbies?

Thanks, i will do my best. Im also first-in-family so i think that'll help. More questions if thats ok.

1. How do i get "it" translated?
2. Also, if i fill out an application, like the Common Application, to Dartmouth, do i use the same application and send it to other schools or do i have to change things in it?
3. How do teacher recommendations work? Do i just get 2 teachers and have them copy there letters like 10 times or what?

As for hobbies, I play guitar with a music group at our school that does songs for elderly. I co-founded Puzzle Club at my school. I help my friend design computer flash games. Dont know if this counts but i modify video game systems to play backups. Sadly my school doesnt have sports. Thats about it for interesting hobbies, if my parents had money, i would have a blast building things out of clay and wood, maybe even pick up some art, but ive never had that luxury to get everything i want.