Financial Aid

Scholarships

Scholarships that are open to students who have DACA or are undocumented

Eligibility for financial aid

No. Undocumented students, including DACA students, are not eligible for federal student aid. However, you may be eligible for state or college financial aid, in addition to private scholarships.

Most private scholarship funds and foundations require applicants to be U.S. citizens or legal residents, but there are some that do not. The Resources section on the College Board page below links to a list of scholarships that may be available to undocumented students.

Private institutions set their own financial aid policies. Some are willing to give scholarships and other aid to undocumented students.

https://professionals.collegeboard.org/guidance/financial-aid/undocumented-students

It depends. In some states, undocumented students, or specifically DACA students, are eligible to receive in-state tuition. At the current moment, North Carolina is not one of those states, but tuition equity legislation has been proposed and advocates continue to work on this issue.

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1l-zT3r4qM3mjkuXtMmE5aePySFunSdFb

There are three main types of financial aid:

Good grades help. A GPA of 3.0 or better is required for many scholarships based on academic standing. Other scholarships and loan programs focus mostly on financial need. As long as you meet the general requirements for the scholarship, you should apply.

No. The time required to process a financial aid application is lengthy. Experts recommend that students apply for financial aid at the college or university of their choice even before they actually know whether or not they have received acceptance at that school.

No. Most financial aid is available to students who are at least half time.

https://www.thencshp.org/financial-aid

Private institutions set their own financial aid policies. Some are willing to give scholarships and other aid to undocumented students. While they have higher tuition rates than public institutions, families may end up paying less if they have demonstrated need.

Public institutions must abide by federal policies, so they have lower tuition rates but they also have less flexibility in how they use their money.

https://professionals.collegeboard.org/guidance/financial-aid/undocumented-students

You may also wish to view the CFNC video called “Understanding financial aid for immigrant families: Public and private institutions” which is posted in the CFNC Video Library section of this website. There is also a Spanish language video for families, which is called “Fundamentos Financiales.”

Completing the FAFSA form

Most states and colleges use information collected on the FAFSA form to determine whether you’re eligible for aid. However, we first recommend that you check with your high school counselor or your college or career school’s financial aid office to see what types of financial aid you may be eligible to receive and whether completing the FAFSA form is the way to apply for that aid.

Yes. An SSN is necessary to complete the FAFSA form. If you are completing a FAFSA form online at fafsa.gov or through the myStudentAid mobile app, an SSN is also required to create a username and password called the FSA ID, which can be used to electronically sign the FAFSA form and to access the myStudentAid mobile app.

Most undocumented students aren’t eligible for an SSN; thus, they cannot complete the FAFSA form. However, DACA students with SSNs can complete the FAFSA form. For information about obtaining an SSN, visit ssa.gov/pubs/deferred_action.pdf.

If your FAFSA form is rejected due to an issue with your SSN, contact the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY for the deaf or hard of hearing 1-800-325-0778).

Note: The remainder of the questions and answers in this document focus on completing the FAFSA® form, so the guidance applies only to DACA students with SSNs—not to all undocumented students.

No. Your parents’ citizenship status doesn’t affect your eligibility for federal student aid. In fact, the FAFSA form doesn’t even ask about your parents’ status.

No. Since your parents’ citizenship doesn’t affect your ability to complete the FAFSA form, they don’t need SSNs. If your parents don’t have SSNs, they must enter 000-00-0000 when the FAFSA form asks for your parents’ SSNs.

If your parents don’t have SSNs, they won’t be able to create FSA IDs and therefore won’t be able to sign your FAFSA form electronically. You’ll have to print out the signature page from the online FAFSA form so that your parents can sign it and mail it to the address indicated.

DACA students must answer that question by selecting the option “No, I am not a citizen or eligible noncitizen.”

If you are completing the FAFSA form online at fafsa.gov or through the myStudentAid mobile app and you filed your income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you may be able to access your tax information through the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT). If you didn’t file an income tax return with the IRS, enter the requested financial information manually on the FAFSA website or through the myStudentAid mobile app. If completing the FAFSA form on paper, follow the instructions that detail how to answer the financial information questions.

If you are completing the FAFSA form online at fafsa.gov or through the myStudentAid mobile app and your parents filed their income tax returns with the IRS and they meet certain requirements such as having SSNs, they may be able to access their tax information through the IRS DRT. If your parents didn’t file their income tax returns with the IRS, you can enter the requested information manually on the FAFSA website or through the myStudentAid mobile app. If completing the FAFSA form on paper, follow the instructions that detail how to answer the parental financial information questions.

Yes, it is the law in NC that everyone complete the RDS process along with the admissions process. If you have DACA you will be classified as a non-resident but can at least complete your application for admission. If you are a U.S. citizen with an undocumented parent, your RDS process will be more complicated, but CFNC has resources to help you:
https://ncresidency.cfnc.org/residencyInfo/pdf/Top10ToKnow.pdf
and
https://ncresidency.cfnc.org/residencyInfo/pdf/RDSInterviewUndoc.pdf

For more information about the DACA program, visit dhs.gov/topic/deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-daca.

For more information about federal student aid and the FAFSA® form, visit StudentAid.gov or call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243; TTY for the deaf or hard of hearing 1-800-730-8913).