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Yo Carlos!
I'm currently a junior in high school and I'm
missing five credits to be officially considered a senior. My whole
first two years of school were a total disaster! I really messed up and
I realize it. For the last two years I’ve been really trying to catch
up so that I can graduate. I feel like I have so much potential and I
want so much for myself, but there's a lot holding me back. I'm
Guatemalan and I came here when I was nine years old. My parents moved
here, for the same reason your parents did, for a better future. The
problem is that I only have a visa and passport. So I’m basically not
legal. I don’t want to feel like I'm going to be stuck after I graduate
high school. My question is what can I do to go to college?
Sincerely,
Not Legal, but Hopeful
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Check it “Not Legal,”
Let’s start with this first: YOU ARE NEITHER
LEGAL OR ILLEGAL! My driving may be illegal, but you are not.
Don’t allow others to define you and label you in those terms, because
if you do, you’ll begin to see yourself in those terms and labels. You
are who you are: a Guatemalan, full of potential that WILL go to
college. Know it; believe it; be Proud of it.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s
tackle the college question. If there is anyone who understands messing
up early in high school it would be. At one point, I had the longest
stretch of detention in my high school’s history. But I also believe
that if you truly want to change, you can. If you don’t like the path
your on, every moment you live and every second you breath, is a second,
a moment to turn things around. You may be “undocumented” but you can
still go to college.
Ernesto Mejia, Associate Dean of Student Success at
Morton College agrees. “First, I would suggest focusing on getting the
grades up, because that is what most scholarships will focus on,
regardless of your legal status.” “If a student can prove that they
have worked to continually improved her grades, there is hope of getting
their education paid for.”
As far as where to apply, my recommendation would
be to cautious with public institutions. They are able to accept you,
but will be unable to provide you any significant financial aid.
Community colleges are a good start because the cost is relatively low.
Additionally, many community colleges are increasing the amount of
scholarships they have available to undocumented students. Private
institutions are also a better bet than public schools, because they
have the ability of using their scholarship monies as they please.
“It also depends on where she lives,” says Mejia.
“For example, in Kansas they've recently passed their own version of the
DREAM Act, allowing undocumented students that graduate from a Kansas
high school to attend college and apply for aid in Kansas.”
The best bet is to research the options that are
available in your state.
Lastly, let me give you some websites that may
provide you with some resources:
In closing, regardless of the obstacles, if you
want to go to college, you can do it. Remember you can’t fail if you
never quit! Persistence beats resistance every time.
I’ll see you in college.
Sincerely,
Carlos
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