Northern Illinois University and TheDream.US, the nation’s largest college and career success program for immigrant students, today announced a new partnership to provide scholarships for Illinois immigrant youth to achieve their higher education dreams.
The new partnership announcement arrives as the TheDream.US opens its scholarship round for the 2023-2024 academic year. The application round will be open between November 1, 2022 and through the end of February 2023.
The scholarships are open to undocumented immigrant students with or without DACA or TPS who came to the U.S. before the age of 16 and before Nov. 1, 2017. “We’re excited to sign on as a partner with the TheDream.US to further showcase our commitment to undocumented students as they work toward accomplishing their higher education goals,” said Sandy López, NIU director of the newly named Undocumented Student Resource Center.
“We listened to our students of DREAM Action NIU, and this partnership is one that they wanted us to pursue. It will make college more affordable for future scholarship recipients and also allow us to share best practices and learn from other institutions in TheDream.US network.”
The partnership will provide funding support for tuition, fees, books and supplies to eligible transfer students, Lopez said. Her center is commemorating the partnership with an “I Stand with Immigrants” event from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the Holmes Student Center, where a limited number of T-shirts will be available for those who participate in activities to share their support for immigrants.
Through the new partnership, Illinois immigrant youth will be eligible to apply for TheDream.US National Scholarship. The National Scholarship is for undocumented students. Full eligibility information for the National Scholarship is available online. NIU’s partnership with TheDream.US provides scholarship opportunities exclusively to transfer students from community colleges who meet scholarship qualifications.
“We are excited to partner with Northern Illinois University in supporting Illinois undocumented students in their college and career aspirations,” said Candy Marshall, president of TheDream.US.
“Despite the many obstacles these students face, these immigrant students continue to persevere and work hard to achieve their education and career goals. 93% of our 3,000+ graduates are now working or have started their own businesses. Their successes are proof that expanding undocumented students’ access to higher education and career opportunities is good for our country’s economic growth. We are grateful to NIU and our 80+ other Partner Colleges across the United States for giving our immigrant youth the opportunity to pursue a college education and contribute to the future of America.”
TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college and career success program for undocumented immigrant students, having provided more than 8,750 college scholarships to Dreamers attending 80+ partner colleges in 21 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 future.
Meet TheDream.US Graduates
TheDream.US has over 3,000 graduates who are driven, resilient, and helping move our shared country forward. They are nurses, teachers, authors, computer scientists, research scientists, business entrepreneurs, nurses, policy analysts, social justice workers – all contributing to the social and economic prosperity of this country. Their stories are ones of resilience and determination. Meet some of TheDream.US graduates and learn their stories.
