NYU offers scholarship exclusively for illegal students

New York University is now offering a special scholarship to undocumented students in order to make college more affordable.

Beginning in the 2015-16 school year, such students who have been living in N.Y., for at least three years will be eligible for a scholarship from the university.

“NYU is very pleased to be starting a pilot program this year to offer institutional scholarship aid on a par with what we offer to US students to eligible undocumented students from New York,” John Beckman, a spokesperson for NYU, said in a statement. “We believe NYU offers a great education, and we hope this will make it a bit easier for undocumented young men and women from New York to attend NYU--we’re sympathetic to their circumstances and the difficulties they face.”

According to the school’s admissions website, the students must fill out a financial profile and complete an “undocumented student financial aid application.”

NYU’s pilot program will only apply to scholarships offered by the university as state and federal financial aid programs are still unattainable for undocumented students. However, according to the university, the new program is due in part to Dream Act student activists.

“This effort actually begins, we’re proud to say, with a group of NYU students who call themselves the Dream Team who came to the Admissions and Financial Aid office and challenged us to do better by these young men and women,” Beckman said. “This pilot is a tribute, to no small extent, to those students’ passion and compassion.”

Proponents of the Dream Act would like to see such students receive state and federal financial aid for in-state tuition.

According to the university, the money will come from a fund separate from the one used for scholarships for American citizens.

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