Main content
Course: College admissions > Unit 1
Lesson 3: Access to college- Who can succeed in college?
- Student story: Overcoming cultural obstacles to college
- Student story: Overcoming anxiety around not fitting in as an obstacle to college
- Student story: Overcoming time management obstacles to college
- Student story: Overcoming social obstacles to college
- Student story: Overcoming lack of high school support as an obstacle to college
- Student story: Overcoming immigration obstacles to college
- Student story: Overcoming financial obstacles to college
- Student story: Overcoming the financial aid process as an obstacle to college
- Student story: Overcoming family obstacles to college
© 2024 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Student story: Overcoming immigration obstacles to college
This student shares their experience as an undocumented person. They faced fear of being separated from their family and home. This fear affected their college application process. However, they turned that fear into motivation, pursued a college degree, and set an example for their younger siblings.
.Want to join the conversation?
What is an undocumented child?(7 votes)
An undocumented child is a child that is an illegal immigrant that does not have the legal documents needed to live in a certain place and so might be deported.(27 votes)
How was she able to apply to colleges when she was undocumented? And how did she get excepted?(12 votes)
If you look at todays sittuation it is very heart breaking seeing so many people in trouble in many lands and indeed countries so why in the world would we not try and help one another when we fall on hard times. regards les(2 votes)
- Why would someone be taken away from their parents when they apply to go to college? At any rate, since most people applying to go to college are adults, could they even have taken this woman away from her mother at all?(7 votes)
Not everyone applying for college is an adult. But, in this case, the question is if the young lady would get deported. A family could get split up if one of the family is deported, but the others are not because they haven't been tracked down. By applying for college and admitting to not being a documented citizen, an individual is leaving a trail for officials who might deport her.(8 votes)
I still don't understand how you can be undocumented yet still apply for colleges. Wouldn't the college turn them over to the police? What happens if they get accepted anyway?(7 votes)
While being undocumented in one country maybe she applied abroad to college? I know you need big amount fo money for that, but just because you are undocumented in let's say 'homecountry' that has nothing to dow ith another country you are applying to college, or am I wrong?
Especially nowaday sin 2019...the laws are so strict and nobody likes immigrants. People from smaller countries have no hope or options to go into bigger and wealthier countries. So she must be lucky or has some additional help.(3 votes)
Hello.
This ins't entirely related to this video, but I would like to attend college in Germany as a homeschooler. Is it feasible?(4 votes)
Yes, it is. Although there will be more obstacles to overcome during the process of applying to a college outside of your home country, it's very much still possible.(4 votes)
Thought the video was talking about the legal obstacles for immigration(3 votes)
I still don't understand how you can be undocumented yet still apply for colleges. Wouldn't the college turn them over to the police? What happens if they get accepted anyway?(2 votes)
Colleges and universities are not law enforcement agencies. Much of student financial aid in the USA comes from the federal government, so an undocumented person would be denied aid at that gateway. Nobody will come knocking at your door with drawn guns.
If you get admitted anyway, failure of ability to pay your fees will soon have you gone.(2 votes)
I have I axiuibuycsgaficuq(1 vote)- Maybe a surgeon could remove that, and you'll be able to spell again!(3 votes)
- When we thing we can, nothing else exists as a problem.(1 vote)
- That can depend on what it is we think that we can do. For example, if I think that I can fly, then jump off the roof, I'm very likely to encounter a problem. Also, if I think that I can get into the Electrical Engineering department of National Taiwan University without knowing any Chinese, I may discover there's a problem.
Thinking that we "can't" do something is certainly a barrier, but thinking that we "can" does not guarantee success.(2 votes)
- I fell way different but I need help in school!(1 vote)
Video transcript
- An obstacle
I faced being undocumented is the constant fear, the fear of being taken
away from your family, from your home, from things you love, and that confronted me when I came around to the college process, and when I had to do applications, I had to check boxes that
said I was undocumented, it presented fear within
me, and also my family. It came to one point, my mom's saying, "Don't go to college, "because they'll know you're undocumented, "and they'll take you away from me." And that fear played a big role in me saying no at one point, and then it led to motivation of saying, "Well, no, I'm undocumented, "but I'm not useless,
I could do something." So that made me pursue a college degree, and it helped me fill out those college applications with courage. And doing that, I set an example for my younger siblings, and for them, for when it's their turn to apply to college, they
won't have that fear.