Scholarship program assists undocumented Nevada students 

Nevada college students who are undocumented can apply for TheDream.US national scholarship, the largest scholarship for undocumented people in the U.S. The deadline closes Feb. 29.

Last week, Make the Road Nevada, a nonprofit organization that advocates for immigrant and working-class families, partnered with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, (UNLV) and Nevada State University to host a workshop for students interested in applying for TheDream.US national scholarship. 

Because undocumented students are ineligible for government financial aid, they depend primarily on private scholarships, the bulk of which require U.S. citizenship or permanent legal residency. But TheDream.US national scholarship is for undocumented people, including special classification types of undocumented people like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) students. DACA students account for 57% of scholarship grantees in TheDream.US program, according to data from 2023.  

Nevada accounted for 80 of the 4,000 students in the U.S. to attend college because of TheDream.US scholarship last year, according to data from TheDream.US.

It offers up to $39,000 in financial aid to undocumented students interested in enrolling at Nevada State University and UNLV.

“There is a lot of misinformation or a lack of information for our undocumented community. A lot of times they believe that higher education isn’t something that they can access. When in reality our Nevada System of Higher Education doesn’t require a social security number for enrollment or admission and they do have alternative kinds of financial aid opportunities,” said Nayelli Rico Lopez, the coordinator of the UNLV Undocumented Student Program.

Undocumented students don’t have the same resources as documented students, said Flor Diaz, the youth power project organizer for Make the Road Nevada. She highlighted how many of the people in her life can’t pursue an education without financial assistance, but that when they do they tend to pursue careers that help the community.

“Most of the people who do receive this scholarship do go on to becoming those who help others in need, like child care workers,” she said. 

The top industries that recipients pursue for TheDream.US scholarship program are business, health and medicine, education, public service, and math and technology, according to data from TheDream.US.