Hello,

I helped my cleaning lady's son get into Cornell Engineering where he was offered a full scholarship in January. We just found out he is not not getting the scholarship because his green card didn't come in time (he should get it in the next few weeks). He did apply for the Ronald McDonald scholarship but I am concerned that since it appeared that he had a 95% scholarship (53K) to Cornell that they might ignore him. The dean of Cornell Engineering has graciously allowed him to defer for one year and still get his scholarship at that time. Because they let him know so late that he didn't get the scholarship, he really has no other options. Even if he gets the Ronald McDonald scholarship he is still short. I could give him 5K and probably raise another 5-10K.
I know it is very late in the game, but if you have any thoughts that might help, I would greatly appreciate it. This kid is not only brilliant, but extremely mature. When I told him about the scholarship situation last week, he didn't get upset, but only looked on the positive side and tried to figure out what were his options.

Thank-you,
Richard

Hello Richard,

I'm not sure if you have made any progress with this situation since you posted your message, but I just wanted to offer a bit of advice. First, I would contact the Ronald McDonald folks to let them know about the fact that the student may not be able to access the scholarship award from Cornell and that until his green card comes through, he will not have access to funds from Cornell or the government. Hopefully, that will help you make his need more clear.

Also, I think your idea about soliciting private donations is a good one. Many students I know have gone this route to fund much of their education. For example, there is a young woman who is about to complete her Masters at Harvard who raised $35,000 in private donations to fund her year at Harvard. One useful tool that many undocumented students I have worked with use to solicit private donations is a Fundraising Portfolio, which they provide to people in their own network. If you look at one of my recent blog posts on Latinos in College http://drpazmayaoliverezforlatinosincollege.blogspot.com/2011/03/fundraising-tips-for-undocumented.html you can find some guidance about how to develop a Fundraising Portfolio and how to use it to raise money for college.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Best,
Paz Oliverez

Was this student able to attend Cornell? The money that he received from Cornell University was most likely need-based financial aid, with the majority of the money comprising that of grants and scholarships from private donors, especially if he doesn't have a green card and is in undocumented status. Cornell is accepting of undocumented students, so I really do hope that he was able to attend Cornell.