Ana Lopez is a first-semester freshman at Cumberland University, something she wasn’t sure would ever happen — in part, because of her immigration status and the cost.
But now she feels like it was fate. “On my way to Cumberland for the tour, I was like, ‘Lord, if this is your will for me to go to this school, I will be accepted.'”
And to make school work, she’s been grinding.
“I would babysit here and there,” Lopez says, “I would take people to their doctor appointments.”
She also works at a body shop, and made some extra money selling her own car. She’s even setting aside money from a recent birthday to help cover the cost of tuition. She says her payment is just shy of $1,500 per month.
Lopez is paying for college out of pocket. That’s because undocumented folks and DACA recipients can’t get federal student aid.
Paying for college as an undocumented or DACA student
Federal student loans have been in the news a lot recently because of President Biden’s forgiveness plan. But undocumented and DACA students aren’t eligible to take them out in the first place — and many private banks won’t lend to them either.
Jennifer Novo is executive director of FUTURO, a college success and professional development organization that serves predominantly Latino students. She says the lack of access to financing discourages many undocumented high schoolers from even considering college.
Courtesy FUTURO FUTURO offers professional development, guidance and mentorship to students involved with the organization.
“Most opt out of pursuing a higher education because it is very financially difficult,” she says. “Most of them don’t know, though, that there are private schools that will work with them.”
Public universities are usually considered more affordable options, but undocumented students who live in Tennessee have to pay out-of-state tuition.
Novo says private schools — like Cumberland, where Lopez attends — have more flexibility to help students with finances. Several private universities across Tennessee have partnered with Equal Chance for Education, an organization that awards scholarships to undocumented students. Among them are Belmont, Lipscomb, Trevecca Nazarene, Cumberland and Fisk.
The challenge of adjusting to college
Still, for Lopez, there’s a lot of pressure. In addition to the financial stress, she’s learning how to navigate college. She says her older sister attended online college, but she’s the first in her family to go to university in person.
“I am going through like this mental breakdown phase I guess where I’m actually like transitioning … It’s really challenging and exhausting to my mind.”
She tries to de-stress on the weekends by playing soccer. “I forget about my week for those 40 minutes,” Lopez says. “And if I have anger, if I have stress, I let it out on the ball.”
Lopez says she’s going to look into playing for the school team next year. She hopes that could earn her a scholarship, and she plans on applying for other opportunities as well.
To undocumented high schoolers in a similar situation, she advises researching and networking early to find scholarships that will help cover the cost school. Conexión Américas and College Board have resources on their websites for undocumented students to check out.
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