Transcript Slide 1

Aliza Gilbert
College Counselor
Highland Park High School
Highland Park, Illinois
The Situation in Illinois
• 4% of the undocumented students in the
U.S. live in Illinois. (1)
(CA – 24%, TX – 14%, FL – 9%, NY 7%, AZ
– 5%, NJ – 4%, NC – 3%)
• 3,500 graduate each year from Chicago
high schools alone (2)
(1) March 2004 Current Population Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau
and Department of labor
(2) Center for Urban Economic Development, UIC March 2003
Public Act 93-007
• In 2003 Illinois became the 7th state to pass a
tuition law (House Bill 60) referred to as Public Act
93-007.
• Ten states have established new residency
standards allowing unauthorized immigrant
students to receive in-state tuition under certain
conditions (TX, CA, UT, WA, NY, OK, IL, KS, NM,
NE).
• In IL students can pay in-state tuition rates if
they:
– graduated from an Illinois high school
– attended high school in Illinois for three years
while living with a parent or guardian
– sign an affidavit that they will seek legal status
as soon as they are eligible
Current Issues and Future
Challenges
 Paying for college
 The myth – undocumented = no college
 Lack of motivation resulting in poor academic
performance
 High school counselors and college admission
professionals who are misinformed
What Can Counselors Do?
Improve identification of students
 Smart kids with poor grades who have bad attitudes
toward school. Many are bitter.
 Students with good grades who don’t engage in the
college process and ultimately never apply to college.
 Identify students with birth places outside of the U.S.
who do not have a social security number.
 Talk to teachers, other students, past grads.
Educate Students
 Revise your presentations to include the terms: citizens,
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lawful permanent residents and undocumented students.
Do presentations to multicultural and international
student groups.
Get to the freshmen early!
Outreach to the middle schools.
Inform students about tuition laws (if they exist in your
state)
Talk about attending college part-time vs. full-time
Payment plans
Scholarship opportunities
Inform students who are citizens or permanent residents
that they can receive financial aid even if their parents are
undocumented.
Affirm that an education is worthwhile.
Questions undocumented students
ask regarding admissions
• Are there any state laws which require your institution to report
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to a federal or state authority on the presence of undocumented
students at your institution?
If a student does not have a social security number should they
use zero’s or leave it blank?
Are all applicants for admission asked about their citizenship or
immigration status on the application?
Is an applicant who indicates that he or she is not a U.S. citizen
required to submit proof of their immigrant status?
Will the application be rejected if any of these questions are left
blank?
Does the institution have a written policy regarding whether or
not it will report undocumented students only if asked, or do
they volunteer this information?
Questions undocumented students
ask regarding financial aid
• Will the institution consider undocumented students for
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institutional or private aid?
Does the institution require all applicants, even those who
are undocumented to complete a FAFSA in order to be
considered for private or institutional scholarships?
Will the institution accept the College Board CSS Profile in
place of the FAFSA?
If a FAFSA form is completed, does the institution
automatically report any flagged files to INS?
Does the institution offer any special scholarships for
international students?
Can undocumented students apply for these scholarships?
What forms must be completed for these scholarships?
My wish list for colleges!
 Revise your application
 Eliminate request for social security number
 Revise citizenship options
 Revise on-line application
 Don’t require a Verification of Finances for undocumented
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students
Don’t require an undocumented student to complete a FAFSA
Create a financial aid form for institutional need based aid
Award institutional scholarships (how about fully funding just 1
kid?)
Educate your entire staff, especially front line admissions reps
and data processors
Assign a point person in admissions for students and counselors
to contact
Resources for Handouts
 College is Possible: A Guide for Undocumented Students (Chicago
Public Schools)
http://www.postsecondary.cps.k12.il.us/get_to_college/undocumented_st
udents/ (available in Spanish also)
 The Dream Act of 2007 Frequently Asked Questions (Immigration
Policy Center)
http://www.ailf.org/ipc/factchecks/DREAMFAQ10-23-07.pdf
 Dreams Deferred: The Cost of Ignoring Undocumented Students
(Immigration Policy Center)
http://www.ailf.org/ipc/policybrief/policybrief_2007_dream.pdf
 Guide to Undocumented Student Aid (IL Coalition for Immigrant and
Refugee Rights)
http://www.icirr.org/index_files/undocumentedstudentaid.pdf
Don Bishop
Creighton University
Demographics
 1986: 33% of H.S. grads were students of
color, 9.9% were Latino—30% of all SoC
 2000: 42% of H.S. grads were SoC, 16.3%
were Latino—39% of all SoC
 2014: 47% of H.S. grads will be SoC, 19.9%
will be Latino—42% of all SoC
High School Graduates 30 Yr Trends
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1986:
2014:
3.9% Asian
6.9%
.9% Native American 1.1%
16.3% African American 13.2%
9.9% Latino
19.6%
Growth
77%
22%
- 19%
198%
Latino high school graduates will continue to soar and Asian
numbers will also see substantial increases
Latino growth is driving the increase in SoC
We expect the number of undocumented high school
graduates to jump substantially in the next five years
Jesuit Involvement in Undocumented
 Most Jesuit Universities report they enroll between
1 or 2 new undocumented freshmen each year
 The average freshman enrollment of the reporting
Jesuit schools is 1,080 of which the median number
of Latino students was about 70
Jesuit Universities Lower Income Reach
 Among the participating 17 Jesuit Universities in the survey
they averaged enrolling 1170 total freshmen and 220
freshmen (19% of the class) with incomes below
$60,000…many were under $40,000
 310 freshmen (27%) with demonstrated needs above
$32,000…and EFC’s averaging below $3,000
 Most of these students averaged between $6,000 to $10,000
of Federal & State Aid and over $15,000 in institutional
scholarships and grants
Creighton’s Approach to
Undocumented Students
 We do not share undocumented applications with
the Office of International Programs. The student
is attending school in the United States.
 We consider the student for University based
awards…and advise them no state of Federal aid
will be available
 If the student has a permanent resident or refugee
status they can complete the FAFSA and be
considered for all aid programs
 Undocumented students go through the same
admissions review process as American citizens
and they receive all materials and invitations
 We also invite them to meet with our multicultural advisor Ricardo Ariza to assess their best
options—for legal status, if deemed possible
 Some students submit tax forms or at least documentation
that ascertains within reason their financial situation.
Sometimes resources have been withheld from these
declarations.
 Some students have received support up to the full cost of
tuition. Most do not have all loan debt normally provided
entirely replaced by grants. We base our final decisions on
their academic and service and leadership records. The
student and family and their community support system
are all expected to contribute
 Ricardo may contact the Mexican American consulate for
advice and may refer applicants to this group
 Any programs that require background checks and social
security and immigration/citizenship status as part of that
background check will not review or admit undocumented
students
Ethics
 We are constantly wresting with what is best for the
student in the long run. That is our first concern
 Our undocumented students are not able to find jobs that
pay above board. They are highly trained professionals and
can not seek and gain proper work. They have borrowed
from families and worked exceptionally hard
 Our top student (Finance Major)—worked as a translator
as a student for community programs, and now in finance
for a community program—paid in cash
Ethics
 An undocumented student will cost about twice the
resources in aid of a high need student who is unable
to enroll due to the lack of aid from the University
 When we enroll an undocumented student we are
telling two other high need students they can not
come20
Ethics
 In some isolated cases we are compelled by the
students character and talent to enroll them in place of
two other highly deserving high need students
 However, we are rethinking this due to their inability
to find work. Their debt and work has not benefitted
them as much as they hoped and they feel mislead.
The Future
 We are active in seeking advice of the developments on
this political and social justice issue
 If no solution is formed in the next several years we
may not continue to enroll students because of the
lack of job placement..we hold out hope
Vic Davolt
Director of Admissions
Regis University
Denver, CO
Current Issues’
in Colorado
• Undocumented students are legally enrolled in Colorado high schools
• Undocumented students who graduate from Colorado high schools and turn 18
years of age are expected to return to the country of origin--now considered
illegal immigrants
• Undocumented students are required to pay out of state tuition costs at most
Colorado public universities and are not eligible for need-based state aid
• HB 1023 passed in the summer of 2006 bars illegal immigrants from getting
public benefits and tightened restrictions on employers of illegal immigrants
• Students born to illegal immigrants—student is U.S. citizen but parents are not
here legally-- have recently been granted in-state tuition
• High school counselors refer students to attend colleges in states with more
welcoming programs—such as California, Texas and New Mexico or to attend
private universities where merit aid is available
• New Mexico doesn’t deny post-secondary education benefits based on
immigration status. According to an article in the Rocky Mountain News July
20, 2007, (While) “state financial aid is intended for residents, a provision
makes it possible for out-of-state students to establish residency and thus
qualify for in-state tuition and an institutional scholarship.”
Mirna, Ana, and Maria
Stories from Regis University
• The last three years Regis has enrolled these three
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young women who are undocumented
All three were top performing graduates of their
respective high schools
All three have parents who own their homes and pay
federal and state income taxes
All three have merit awards from Regis
All three have uncertain futures under current
legislation
Mirna
• Started with the high school counselor’s desperate plea on behalf
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of a top graduate
Generosity of donor Ralph Nagel and Fr. Michael Sheeran,
President of Regis University
Parents are tax paying home owners with funds set aside for
amnesty fines
Dream of Being a nurse
Never wrote a paper, solved a math problem, or read a book in
high school, but managed a “B” in anatomy course second
semester at Regis
Immigration Attorney, “Don’t ever go back to Mexico.” Van
totaled!
Nursing dream dashed
Future Uncertain
Ana
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Another counselor’s plea
Top rated student from top high school
Nagel funds unavailable
Community College (out of state tuition) and a 4.0
Transfers in and pays the balance
Loves Regis but paying balance of costs may be
unsustainable
• Uncertain future
Maria
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Yet another counselor’s plea
Salutatorian with AP and Honors
Earned nearly $10,000 in outside community scholarships (first year only though for most); also earned merit award
from Regis
She pays 1/3, mom pays 1/3, and brother pays 1/3 of balance
Because of Colorado HB 1023 dad and brothers had to move to Wyoming for work; family relocating to Wyoming and
now she’ll need to add room and board to her costs if she stays at Regis
Wyoming will grant her an honors scholarship but must charge out of state tuition; dad and brother may lose new job
because of immigration status—even though the owners love them
“The pay is good because my dad and brothers will do construction work no one else will do.”
Because of Colorado HB 1023 Maria will lose her job at car dealership even though the owners love her—the tears
flowed heavily
Earned a place in Regis Honors program and earned a Regis Honors Scholarship (only five given per year)
“Get my driver’s license in another state; if I get stopped, just pay the fine.”
Uncertain future
Future Challenges are Current
Challenges
• Amnesty, fines and resurrection of the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and
Education for Alien Minors—which hasn’t gained approval in Congress. When
will Congress act?
• U.S. Latino Population is Explosive—there are 104.9 million Latinos in Mexico
and 44.5 million in the U.S.--A country within a country.
• Everyone’s heard of the 12 million undocumented count
• By 2020 one in five U.S. residents will be Latino
• In Colorado—in 1988 Hispanics were 11% of the graduating high school class
but by 2014 will be 25%.
• The “Latinization” of states calls for immediate attention in higher education—
will serving the needs of this explosive growth of Citizen Hispanics cut out the
undocumented?