DREAM Act
A new component of Chicago Appleseed's Financial Access and Education program is work on the DREAM Act, which focuses on the bipartisan national legislation that addresses the challenges facing young people who grew up in the United States and have graduated from our high schools, but whose educational future is circumscribed by current immigration laws. The ability to effectively utilize and have access to higher education and to the financial aid system to pay for college has emerged as one of the many obstacles facing undocumented immigrant students. These challenges have serious implications for the financial future of students and the future of the state of Illinois.
Currently, the state of Illinois is one of a handful of states in the nation that allow undocumented high school graduates to attend state colleges and universities at in-state tuition costs. However, the ability to effectively utilize the financial aid system to pay for college has emerged as one of the many obstacles facing this vulnerable population. Low-income, minority, and first-generation college students are especially likely to lack specific types of "college knowledge" (College Knowledge: Addressing Information Barriers to College, 2004). In particular, these potential college students are less informed about financial aid, tending to overestimate the cost of tuition and underestimate available aid (A Shared Agenda, 2004).
Research and Advocacy
Chicago Appleseed, Nebraska Appleseed and Washington Appleseed, with the help of the national Appleseed office, conducted an in-state exploratory advocacy research program to interview financial aid offices, high school counselors and undocumented students who have either not been able to pursue their college degree due to fear of immigration laws or who have benefited from the in-state tuition law.
Publications
News
There are no news items at this time.
Resources