One of the more alluring parts of the American dream has always been that our nation can be viewed as a place for people to come to and make a better life for themselves. But for many people, regardless of their country of origin, having the proper higher education is one of the only ways to have any sort of professional momentum. TheDream.US is the nation’s biggest scholarship geared toward making sure that a college education is something that is not out of reach for DREAMers and immigrant youth in our country.
TheDream.US gives DREAMers a chance at a higher education
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The scholarship recently opened their new round of applications for the 2019-2020 academic year. These scholarships will be worth up to $14,500 for an associates degree as well as $29,000 for a full bachelor’s degree. These special scholarships will be available to DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and TPS (Temporary Protected Status) students who meet eligibility criteria. TheDream.US will be putting the money where their mouth is by committing to awarding $140 million in scholarship money to all accepted applicants.
In New York City, there are currently 714 students who are attending CUNY schools on full-tuition scholarships from TheDream.US. These students have proved that they are ready to make a difference as the average cumulative GPA of 3.2. Many of these students, in fact, 68%, are holding jobs while attending school whole 87% are enrolled full-time.
“TheDream.US scholarship has enabled hundreds of CUNY’s DREAMers to pursue their goals and achieve academic success,” said Interim Chancellor Vita Rabinowitz in a press release. “We could not be prouder of our DREAMers. The CUNY community values their contributions to our campuses and to our city, state, and nation. The University will continue to nurture the ambitions of its immigrant students as it has done with great pride for more than 170 years.”
As we are living in a truly chaotic time in our country with our current administration trying to redefine both what it means and who gets access to the American dream, former publisher of The Washington Post and co-founder of TheDream.US Donald E. Graham is standing with those who want and deserve a chance.
“We remain fully committed to helping DREAMers access a college education,” Graham said in the same release. “But, let’s be clear, the most powerful commitment continues to be from DREAMers themselves. As described ‘In Their Own Words,’ and as demonstrated by the record number of scholarship applications TheDream.US received last year, DREAMers hold steadfast to the belief that no one can take a college education away from them.”
