Undocumented students can get more financial help at Cal State Long Beach, thanks to a new scholarship, the university announced Thursday, July 26.
Undocumented students can only apply for state financial aid in California, not federal financial aid – and tuition costs can largely come from out-of-pocket or through scholarships. The new scholarship at Cal State Long Beach has received $17,553 of its $25,000 goal.
There are approximately 1,000 undocumented students at Cal State Long Beach, according to records from September 2017. This is the university’s first scholarship dedicated solely to undocumented students.
“At Long Beach State we’re devoted to reducing educational barriers for all of our students, especially for those students who face substantial obstacles that could keep them from getting their degree,” said Jane Close Conoley, president of the university. “This scholarship will be instrumental in making the university more financially accessible for our undocumented students.”
This isn’t the first time Cal State Long Beach has been an advocate for undocumented students. In the past, ASI – the governing student body – had set up a scholarship that was available for DREAMERS and students who have made a significant impact on the undocumented community, but not one only for undocumented students.
The university also partners with the Dream national scholarship, which provides eligible, first-time DACA college students with up to $29,000 in funding toward tuition, fees, books, supplies, and transportation costs.
When the Trump administration announced its decision last year to try to phase out DACA – the program created under the Obama administration that gives a presidential pass from deportation for eligible immigrant youth who came to the country – Cal State Long Beach set aside $200,000 in funding for undocumented students.
The number of students who will be helped by the scholarship fund will be determined by need. There is no set number of students that will be awarded scholarships, Cal State Long Beach spokesperson Lauren Williams said in an email.
The scholarship will be available one year after it is fully funded, she said.
Any undocumented Cal State Long Beach student in any college is eligible to apply for the scholarship once it is fully funded.
The scholarship – dubbed the Norma Stoltz Chinchilla Scholarship for Undocumented Students – is named after the recently retired faculty member of the sociology and women’s, gender & sexuality studies departments.
Stoltz Chinchilla serves as an expert witness on conditions in Guatemala for deportation hearings held by the Department of Homeland Security and has worked with the Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition and Edwin and Dorothy Baker Foundation.
Stoltz Chinchilla retired in the spring of 2018 after 35 years on campus.
“I was really surprised and excited,” she said of the scholarship. “I had to be talked into it at first, but I realized how important it would be for students. Now more than ever we have such talented young people coming to the university and on to masters programs. With a little bit of financial support, those students can be successful and take advantage of the opportunities in California and give back to our society as professionals.”
To contribute to the scholarship, visit https://giveto.csulb.edu/.
Editor’s Note: The story was updated to clarify that undocumented students can apply for state financial aid in California.
