Photo credit: Amazing Minds
This fall, undocumented students can apply for a new scholarship to help fund their bachelor’s degrees at Eastern Connecticut State University.
The scholarships — up to $20,000 per year for out-of-state students and $7,250 for in-state students — will be fully funded by TheDream.US, a national scholarship fund that has partnered with Connecticut and Delaware to launch the scholarship program.
Starting this fall, high school seniors or graduates from Connecticut, Delaware and 16 other states, where “Dreamers” are prohibited from paying cheaper in-state tuition or enrolling in the state’s colleges and universities altogether, will be eligible for “opportunity scholarships” at Eastern and Delaware State University.
Tuesday’s announcement comes days after legislation died that would have allowed undocumented Connecticut residents access to financial aid pools available to in-state college students. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was on hand at a news conference with students and university officials to announce the scholarships.
“We’re pleased to take part in this program and do what we can to give hardworking students the chance to succeed,” Malloy said in a statement. “Our state stands to benefit from welcoming them — along with their talents and potential — to our communities and to our schools.”
Mark E. Ojakian, president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, agreed.
“Undocumented students are untapped talent that our businesses and our communities need. I hope to see this partnership expand in the future as we continue to work on making public education more accessible to all of our young people who want to improve their lives,” said Ojakian, who supported the legislation that would have expanded in-state institutional aid to undocumented students.
Connecticut Students for a Dream, a nonprofit that has advocated for years for greater access to…
To read full story: http://m.ctpost.com/local/article/Eastern-Connecticut-State-University-offering-7436895.php
