Officials at Cal State Long Beach and Long Beach City College announced their partnership with TheDream.US, a multi-million dollar national program that provides thousands of undocumented immigrants with college scholarships.
CSULB Associate Vice President of Legislative and External Relations Terri Carbaugh said she met with the founders of TheDream.US in Washington, D.C. Tuesday to finalize the partnership.
According to the TheDream.US website, CSULB and LBCC were chosen by the program due to their high graduation rates and diverse student populations.
Carbaugh said the goal of the partnership is to help undocumented students who lack the financial resources needed to continue their education.
“It is very important that we give all our students an equal opportunity that other [students] might have over them,” Carbaugh said. “This scholarship will give those students the same chance that their other peers have and help ensure their timely graduation.”
Under Assembly Bill 540, which was signed into law in 2001, eligible undocumented students are allowed to pay in-state tuition at public college and universities, according to the AB540 website.
In fall 2013, there were 650 AB540 students at CSULB and 251 at LBCC.
To qualify for the scholarship, applicants must be eligible recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an initiative that protects its recipients from deportation for two years as long as they meet the requirements, according to the website.
Students who receive the scholarship must maintain a 3.0 GPA and finish their degree on time in order to keep their eligibility, according to the website.
Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree receive $25,000 on average, and have up to six years to complete their degree. Those pursuing an associate degree have three years to graduate and receive $12,500 on average, according to TheDream.US website.
TheDream.US will provide 2,000 eligible students with $25 million in scholarships, which will help them finish their college careers at one of the 12 partnered colleges throughout California, Florida, Washington, Texas and New York, according to the website.
Senior psychology major Esenia Jimenez, who is among a few members of her family who are documented, said she believes the development of such programs will help encourage undocumented students to pursue a college career after high school.
“This is really cool,” Jimenez said. “More opportunities [are] arising for people who didn’t have many options a few years back and have had a history of financial problems.”
LBCC student Brandon Richards agrees that the partnership is a step in the right direction.
“I think it’s a good thing for those who can’t afford school [and] are working to obtain their degrees,” Richards said. “They need the support … especially if the student [wants] to succeed in life.”
The deadline to apply for TheDream.US scholarship is March 31. Those who are interested in applying can visit thedream.us for more details.
