For Immediate Release: January 13, 2021
Contact: Michael Earls: [email protected]
TheDream.US College Scholarship Round Open for Georgia Immigrant Youth
Visit https://www.thedream.us/scholarships/ for Application Information
Washington, DC – TheDream.US, the nation’s largest college access and success program for immigrant youth, has opened its new Scholarship round for the 2021-2022 academic year. The organization’s expanded eligibility criteria opens applications to DREAMers who have DACA, TPS or who came to the country before November 1, 2015 and otherwise meet the DACA eligibility criteria. The new scholarship round includes eligibility for Georgia immigrant youth, who are eligible to apply to both the National and Opportunity Scholarship.
- The Opportunity Scholarship provides up to $80,000 for Georgia immigrant youth to cover tuition, fees, and on-campus housing and meals for a bachelor’s degree at one of four out-of-state colleges which are dedicated to supporting the higher education needs of DREAMers: Christian Brothers University in Tennessee, Delaware State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, and Trinity Washington University in Washington, DC. TheDream.US has awarded 633 Opportunity Scholarships in total, including 242 to students from Georgia. The deadline for applications for the Opportunity Scholarship is January 28, 2021.
- The National Scholarship is for first-time college students or community college graduates to attend a Partner College in their state. In Georgia, TheDream.US partners with Oglethorpe University, a co-educational small private college in DeKalb County in suburban Atlanta. The partnership is TheDream.US’s first with a Georgia institution and the first in a “locked out” state, where DREAMers cannot get in-state tuition or state financial aid. The National Scholarship is for tuition and fees up to $33,000 for a bachelor’s degree. The deadline for applications for the National Scholarship is February 25, 2021.
According to Candy Marshall, president of TheDream.US: “We are honored to support highly motivated DREAMers in Georgia in their pursuit of a college education and meaningful career. We are buoyed by President-elect Biden’s commitments to reinstate the DACA program and pursue legislation that will provide DREAMers with a path to citizenship that will enable them to fully contribute to our shared country. Until this happens, immigrant youth in Georgia and other locked-out states will continue to need our support. With the opening of our 2021-22 Scholarship round, we are grateful for the partnership with Oglethorpe University to provide an in-state option for Georgia Scholars and for our four out-of-state Partner Colleges that are proven to support Georgia Opportunity Scholars’ success.”
After hearing the story of Georgia students such as Sadhana Singh, TheDream.US created scholarships to address the unique needs of students in “locked out” states. Sadhana was barred from attending college until the age of 28 due to her undocumented status and related financial barriers. Sadhana attended Trinity Washington University in Washington, DC, where she co-founded and served a president of The Dreamers Alliance and graduated in May 2018 with a BA in Communication and a minor in International Affairs. She now serves TheDream.US as our Senior Communications Manager, helping other students achieve their higher education dreams.
Last summer, Oglethorpe highlighted that sophomore art history major and TheDream.US Scholar Lidia Labrada was one of only 15 undergraduates selected for the Mellon Summer Academy hosted at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The story quoted from Labrada: “As a DACA-mented student, art became a powerful form of expression that I learned during my senior year in high school … As a TheDream.US Scholar at Oglethorpe I have learned more about the influence of art and have regained a sense of my culture as well as been exposed to other cultures in my courses. I am proud of who I am and have grown to learn that my status doesn’t define me.”
About TheDream.US
- TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college access and success program for immigrant youth, having provided more than 6,500 college scholarships to DREAMers at more than 70 partner colleges in 16 states and Washington, DC. We believe that all young Americans, regardless of where they were born, should have the opportunity to get a college education and pursue a meaningful career that contributes to our country’s prosperity.
- Read the September 2020 “In Their Own Words” survey report from TheDream.US detailing how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of 2,681 Scholars attending Partner Colleges in 17 states and Washington, DC. The survey found that while DREAMers and their families’ economic and health security have been greatly diminished by the pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding the future of DACA, DREAMers remain focused on completing college, giving back to their communities, and ambitiously pursuing their post-college goals.