The College Guide for Undocumented Students by Best Colleges provides information on the complex issues many undocumented students face, including, but not limited to searching, selecting and applying to college, financial aid & scholarships, potential paths to citizenship including federal and state legislation (e.g., Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Development, Relief, and Education for Alient Minors (DREAM) Act) and other advice to assist in navigating college as an undocumented student,

WHO DOES THIS PROGRAM AIM TO SERVE? Undocumented students seeking to attend college. This includes foreign nationals who entered the United States without inspection, with fraudulent documents or legally as nonimmigrants, who then violated the terms of their status by letting their visas expire.

ABOUT UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS According to the National Immigration Law Center, undocumented students are defined as foreign nationals who entered the U.S; without inspection, with fraudulent documents, or legally as non-immigrants, who then violated the terms of their status by letting their Visas expire. By remaining in the U.S. without authorization, they are breaking the law. However, beyond these legal realities, there is the unsettling fact that many undocumented students are really just victims of circumstances beyond their control.

Most of these students were brought to America by their parents at a very young age. They’ve learned English, completed their schooling and integrated themselves into communities ― they regard themselves as Americans. According to the CollegeBoard.org report, Young Lives on Hold, about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools every year. When they aspire to go to college along with their peers, their undocumented status becomes a major hindrance. The report also states that only 5 to 10 percent of undocumented students go on to college after graduating high school.