ARE YOU A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WITHOUT LEGAL STATUS? HOW TO FIND FINANCIAL AID FOR COLLEGE

Students who do not reside legally within the United States in which they live ARE NOT eligible to receive federal funds, such as the Pell Grant or federally funded loan packages. However, that does not mean there are not numerous privately funded scholarships do exist for students who fall into this category, and listed below are the organizations that fund such scholarships.

In California, the Senate passed SB540 that allows students who have attended school here in the state for at least 3 years to apply and receive in-state tuition rates for college. The problem that occurs is that these students are NOT eligible for any financial assistance through the state or federal government. Many other states offer the same benefit.

However, that all said, does that mean that those who are here without the proper legal documentation a student who has been schooled in the U. S. should be unable to attend the college of their choice? Have you heard the story of Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa?

Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, a renowned brain surgeon at John Hopkins University and whose story figured prominently on CBS 60 Minutes is an immigrant who came to American illegally and exemplifies an element of the immigration debate not often heard on cable talking head shows. Quinones-Hinojosa as he put it “hopped the fence” – his words – from Mexico in 1986 and worked in the fields before he was able to put himself through Cal-Berkeley and Harvard. He says proudly..... “ The same hands that picked tomatoes are now picking at brain stems,” and then he smiles.

Dr. Quiñones was an illegal immigrant, entering the United States after hopping over a border fence in Mexicali. Through years of determined work as a farm worker, he saved enough money to become a U.S. citizen. His life's story was told as a documentary by others.

He started his U.S. education at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California, and completed his bachelor's degree at University of California, Berkeley. He then went on to receive his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, where he graduated with honors. After completing his residency in neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco, as well as a postdoctoral fellowship in developmental and stem cell biology, he became an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Quiñones serves as the director of the brain tumor program at The Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. He focuses on the surgical treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors, with an emphasis on motor and speech mapping during surgery. He is expert in treating intradural spinal tumors as well as brainstem and eloquent brain tumors in adults with the use of neurophysiological monitoring during surgery. He further specializes in the treatment of patients with pituitary tumors using a transphenoidal endonasal approach with surgical navigation and/or endoscopic techniques.

Dr. Quinones has a strong interest in treating patients with skull base tumors and the use of radiosurgery as an adjunct to the treatment of these lesions. He conducts numerous research efforts on elucidating the role of stem cells in the origin of brain tumors and the potential role stem cells can play in fighting brain cancer and regaining neurological function.

His most recent accolade was being honored with the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Ronald Bittner Award. He has also received multiple teaching awards including Popular Science's Brilliant Ten list in 2008.

Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa has been nominated by Johns Hopkins University to be one of the USA Science and Engineering Festival's Nifty Fifty Speakers, and as such also speaks about his work and career to middle and high school students.

That is a pretty amazing story don't you think? I am sure there are many more who are similar to Dr. Quinones, and who face the same struggles.

To those who think that because of their immigrant status or standing puts them in harms way or, that college is "only" a dream, perhaps you should think again. Did you know there are privately funded resources that are available for all students regardless of immigration status?

These are scholarships do not require a social security number, legal residency, or citizenship in order to apply. Students who are interested in these kinds of awards should contact each scholarship provider for details about updated requirements and deadlines. They are scholarships which are funded privately by individuals, groups, societies, etc.

If you are a student who wants to go to college but fear that you will not be able to attend due to your residency status or because you can not find financial aid to fit your need. Our program works with Avid and International students. We help point students in the right direction toward academic success.

A WORD TO PARENTS AS THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SEASON QUICKLY APPEARS

As a parent, you want the best for your child. You want your child to do better perhaps than you did. You are nervous. You are excited. You are perhaps re-living your college experience all over again.

As a parent myself, I know how hard it is to balance our dreams for our precious children with the reality of where the world is today. That said, it is important to remember that your child’s school experience is not yours; it is theirs! It is their own journey and memories of elementary, middle and high school that only they alone can and must create, not yours. It does not mean they don’t love you.

The fact that we are just “parents” can be a real source of anxiety for a child. At the same time, parents want their children to love them, not hate them because the level of pressure on them is just too much for them at this point and time of their young lives. As parents, it is a difficult walk as you travel down that fine line between motivating them and over loading them

Parents many times approach their high school age students with plans of what THEY want for their students. I had the similar kind of ideas when my son was in High School. However, it is important to remember this “It’s your child’s life that is emerging, not yours.  You are living yours.   It is your child who needs to have his or her heart set on where they are applying to school, not you, the parent.” Read this sentence again, and take a moment to think about how you felt as a teenager when you parents probably did the same thing. All the parental wishing in the world will not help a kid get into Harvard, Stanford or UCLA, especially if it is not on their radar.

Students in the US today are confronted with an influx of foreign students, especially those from India, Japan, or China, or another Asian Countries. These students raise the bar on acceptances naturally as a result of their own individual cultural backgrounds.   These students have been brought up in a different way which lends to these students to be mentally and emotionally stronger than American peers because they have lived in one of the most competitive demographic areas of the world, and it is just part of who they are.

However, when college admission officers are building a freshman class, they are looking to build a diverse group of students into a class.  They want students who can blend and bring new ideas and concepts to their school, so they are not going to take just one type of student.  They want diversity.

Therefore, it is important for a child to do the best that they can, and important for parents to be supportive and help find the schools where their child can emotionally and intellectually grow. Sometimes you see a student who wanted a school so bad,  had it all, and should have been accepted and but wasn’t. It happens quite a bit, so you have to position yourselves for the "What IFs".

The goal of THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS CONSULTANT is to position students to reach their potential; to look at each student attributes and match them with a school that will serve them well, not set them up for failure.

Our job, as consultants, is to be a neutral, non judging third party to maximize student’s grades, scores, academic effort and extras to be the best they can be before they ever get to the admissions application. As students prepare to apply to the schools of their choice, we assist them with narrowing down their selection to the schools which are the best match and at the top end of their range, allowing for the “what ifs”, not to mention  "we buffer the process".

The range that THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS CONSULTANT works with is not necessarily determined by grades, scores, national prominence in academic areas, awards, etc…. The range is made up of a combination of a student’s academic background, schools they have attended likes and dislikes, interests, goals, etc. Once that is determined it is then processed them through a "blender like" technique to come up with a range. We know there is a college for every student; it is just about finding the “right one”. No matter when your child ranks, there is a school for everyone, even schools for those that deal with learning disabilities.

No matter how proud or optimistic a parent may be, both parents and students alike must understand that they are dealing with a system to which they have control over till all the applications are in. Once the applications are submitted and the mixtures are shaken out, it is anyone's guess. Admissions officers can never say what they will do till they see the applicant pool they receive each year.

Parents must accept the idea that as much as we would like to be,  and as often as we have been through out the life of our child, the key player(s),  we aren't anymore. Our job as parents is tapering down, and now the child is the key player. Focusing on the student is central to our process as it is their interests, passions, and goals we are trying to nurture.

Top Tier Schools now show tough odds of getting in. It’s not fair to a student to put pressure on them if they can not reach to and to set them up for failure. Students and Parents need to present themselves in the best light to a top tier school as best the can, keeping in mind that there are no guarantees, and sometimes the most you can do is hope.

So please, our word to parents is this, and we mean it from the heart. As you get nervous and excited as all parents do at this time in your life, simply revise the expectations you and your student have this year and fall in line keeping in mind your child’s natural tendencies and gifts. Failure to not do this is a recipe for disaster and will demoralized your son or daughter.