More than 20,000 college-bound students are seeking state financial aid for the first time under California’s new Dream Act laws that allow them to get the help despite their immigration status.
While far from a complete picture, that number is the best indicator yet of how many students hope to benefit from a pair of laws that could radically change the college experience for a generation of students whose parents brought them to the U.S. illegally when they were young — the same group that has taken center stage in the national immigration reform debate.
“For many of them, it’s a game-changer,” said Meng So, who coordinates UC Berkeley’s months-old Undocumented Student Program.
As college-bound high school graduates await word of their state financial aid — Cal Grants — other kinds of help have begun to flow for students already enrolled in public colleges and universities.