DREAMER'S RESOURCES
What Are Undocumented/DREAMer Students?
- An undocumented student refers to students born outside of the United States, but who have lived in the country for a significant portion of their lives, and reside in the United States without the legal permission of the federal government.
- Are often ineligible for careers that required licensing, background checks, or a Social Security Number.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
- DACA, an executive memo issued on June 15, 2012 offers undocumented persons under the age of 31, meeting specific criteria, deferred action of deportation.
- DACA does not provide an individual with lawful status.
- Through the Department of Homeland Security, DACA recipients are granted the right to an Illinois driver’s license, a Social Security Number and a work permit.
- DACA students are eligible for paid interships and student employment
- Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
- Renew Your DACA
Financing Your Education
Undocumented and DACA students may be eligible to receive privately funded merit scholarships or grant aid. They are not eligible to receive state and federal financial aid.
Students should begin looking for scholarships as early as possible. Contact individuals, groups, or colleges/universities about resources that may be available.
NOTE: Colleges and universities do not recommend that an Undocumented/DACA student fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Contact the college directly as they may have a separate form to fill out and find financial need.
Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid
The Retention of Illinois Students & Equity (RISE) Act allows eligible undocumented students and transgender students who are disqualified from federal financial aid, to apply for all forms of state financial aid. The Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid provides a pathway for these qualified students to apply for Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants.
Pathway to Apply for ISAC Programs
Application for MAP: Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid
Q&A: Financial Aid and Undocumented Students
Resources
Resources/Scholarship Opportunities
- Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling College Advising Guide for Undocumented Students
- Illinois Latino Council for Higher Education (ILACHE)
- U.S. Immigration
- FastWeb
- Latino College Dollars: Scholarships for Latino Students
- LINC Telacu
- Mexican American Legal and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
- Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund (SALEF)
- Scholarships Open Students Regardless of Immigration Status
- U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard Scholarship Guide
- Hispanic Scholarship Fund
- Scholarships for undocumented students
- Scholarships Chicano Organizing & Research in Education–Que Llueva Café Scholarship
- 10,000 Degrees List of Scholarships
- East Bay Consortium Scholarship Directory (for U.S. and non-U.S. Citizens)
- Selected Funding Opportunities Open to Non-US Citizens
- College Guide for Undocumented Students
- Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation (ILLCF)
- Becas Univision Scholarship Program
- Royal Prestige Scholarship
- Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund
- The Esperanza Education Fund
- Scholarships for Undocumented Students
- Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
- DDRL Scholarship Fund
- International Education Financial Aid
- National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
- United We Dream (Resource Guide)
- College Green Light Blog (Scholarship Guide)
- Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois
- My (Un)Documented Life
- Abbott and Fenner Scholarship Program
- Resource Guide: Supporting Undocumented Youth
- Lead Roster Scholarship
Sites Related to Undocumented Students
College Greenlight through Cappex has a list of scholarships for undocumented students.
Financial aid and scholarships for undocumented students.
Golden Door Scholars is a nonprofit built to dramatically expand educational opportunities, increase awareness and raise scholarship funds for high-performing undocumented students.
Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling
Financial aid and scholarships for undocumented students.
ICIRR: An Undocumented Student's Guide to College
A guide to help undocumented students navigate some of the complicated and confusing aspects of accessing higher education.
Up-to-date information & resources for undocumented immigrants.
Undocumented "Friendly" Colleges
These schools are known to offer full financial aid packages to undocumented students; i.e. will substitute private money for the federal or state funds usually included in financial aid OR are schools with high support networks. Some have scholarships specifically and only for undocumented students.
CLICK HERE to check out the list
Lane Tech Dreamer's Club
What We Do:
The DREAMers club is dedicated to educating students and staff about immigration and immigrant rights. We've made it our mission to discuss DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which is a policy that protects immigrant youth who came to the United States as a child, from deportation. The club consists of DREAMers and allies who have a desire to help want to use their voice to advocate for undocumented students. We have brought awareness to our club through classroom presentations in which we cover DACA, changes in immigration, challenges and more importantly, what we can do.
Last year, our club focused on fundraising and we were the first club to ever offer our fellow students a scholarship. With our efforts, we were able to capture the attention of one of LT parents, and we created the Dita Merkle Scholarship. We were able to help five undocumented students attend their dream school.
Location/Time:
Thursdays afterschool
Club Sponsors:
Ms. Liz Chisholm - echisholm@cps.edu
Mrs. Gabriela Escobar - gbescobar@cps.edu
If you have any questions or interest, you can contact the club president, Sofia Rodriguez or vice president, Liliana Vélez.