Chance Me / Match Me: Undocumented [in VA, pending asylum], First-Gen, Very Low-Income Student — Physics + Full Financial Aid [3.85 GPA, 1480 SAT]

Chance Me / Match Me
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41

I usually just read along on CC, but I’m chiming in here because I really hope you find a way to safely and affordably go to university and stay in this country. Many years ago, when I was at Georgetown, I knew several undocumented students, who reported being well supported by the university, financially, in terms of help with connecting to legal support, and also with the specific challenges of being undocumented in college (which have only gotten worse since then).

They have a website dedicated to undocumented student support, undocumented.geogetown.edu

You should also check out the Georgetown Scholars Program, which helps support FGLI students (regardless of immigration status)

Georgetown doesn’t necessarily have a reputation for being the most generous with aid, but I’d encourage you to reach out to some of the people mentioned on these sites and discuss your situation as much as your comfortable with.

As others mentioned, checking out Jesuit universities more broadly may be helpful.

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Okay, thank you. My mother wants to see my succeed I can help with the family so I am sure I will be able to do that.

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Wow. This is AMAZING. I don’t believe I have seen any other university with a page like this. Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention!
I have heard that Georgetown isn’t the most generous with aid— but, it doesn’t hurt to try! I do have involvement with the staff I’ve organized some programs that connected my school and Georgetown which is why it is on my list. I’ll dig more into this site.

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Yes, anytime I travel I avoid flying, I take Amtrak. The fly-in programs I’ve got accepted to have all been able to accommodate me through rail. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.. this is scary. I guess even on the Northeast somebody I am still unsafe.

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45

However, if the student is a Virginia resident for tuition purposes, they should check eligibility for financial aid at Virginia public universities, and check what it may be on their net price calculators.

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That is definitely something to consider and will be important before I regard GMU as a ‘backup’. My sister did not necessarily have any EC’s or competitive stats, but there is not much information about how competitive this scholarship is. I think that’s good for me to do now is just maximize any support and apply to all scholarships rather than relying on ‘chance’. Thanks for the perspective

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As others have posted, that is not true. Even though the OP wants to stay in the Northeast, UC’s definitely welcome undocumented students:

“UC welcomes and supports students without regard to their immigration status, and “Undocumented students of all ethnicities and nationalities can find a safe environment and supportive community at the University of California.”

Anyway, as far as your colleges and admissions, here’s another opinion!

Assured - meaning 100%, probably none on your list.

Extremely Likely - Va Tech, GMU

Likely - Maryland, Reed, Georgetown, you should get into these, but they will not give a lot of financial aid.

Toss-up - Carleton, Bryn Mawr

Lower Probability - Williams, Brown, Cornell, Amherst, Barnard, though being named a QuestBridge Scholar means there is a good chance you will get into one of these.

Low Probability - Yale, Columbia, even with your hooks, first-gen, low-income and possibly undocumented, and your significant STEM accomplishments, these will be your toughest colleges to get into.

You should do well. Good Luck!

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agree on that! though this isn’t my area of expertise. It seems like a great program though!

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Reminder that this is a chance me post. If people want to share stories about ICE enforcement, please start a new thread.

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54

Wait. Isn’t that exactly what the OP is asking for?

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People are welcome to give school suggestions that would meet the OP’s criteria but posting articles and links about ICE enforcement is outside the scope of this post and is moving into politics which can be discuss in the PF.

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57

I’m going to try to make this as bullet-proof as possible:

  1. Don’t rely solely on college DEI boilerplate about being open and supportive of undocumented immigrants. The overwhelming majority have not been tested yet and the ones that have (including several on your list) have not equipped themselves well.
  2. Look for small college towns outside of big metropolitan centers; heads-up about police activity on or around campus travel much faster in these areas.
  3. Personally, I would add every single NESCAC to my QB list; they all have fantastic science facilities and represent a fairly smooth continuum between Amherst and Williams’ single-digit acceptance rates and Conn College’s 37% acceptance rate. You will almost certainly get into one of them.

Hope this helps.

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Not all NESAC are QB partners. I don’t believe CC is. They do meet need though. Am I missing something ?

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You are correct. According to my AI app, Conn and Trinity are not members of QB. That still leaves plenty of range.

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Thank you for this! I’ve applied to the following fly-ins from the schools: Trinity, Middlebury, Amherst, Hamilton, Wesleyan. I hope that, if accepted, visiting these schools gives me more clarity when ranking them and gives me things to base off when I write the supplementals for the school.

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I just did a manual search of the website and Trinity is not a partner school. I’m gonna risk everything and paste the hyperlink here:

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