N.J. gave 749 undocumented immigrants money for college. Here’s where they enrolled. – NJ.com
When New Jersey debuted a new program last year offering college aid to immigrants living in the country illegally, it was unclear how many undocumented students would sign up.
After a year, advocates and state official say the program has been a success.
During the 2018-2019 academic year, 749 undocumented students were awarded $3.8 million in state financial aid to attend New Jersey colleges, according to new statistics released by the state Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.
The so-called “Dreamers” — students brought to the U.S. illegally as children — had previously been permitted to attend New Jersey state colleges paying in-state tuition. But they were forbidden to apply for state-funded financial aid programs.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law last year opening up state financial aid programs to undocumented immigrants, offering them the same state grants, scholarships and other aid used by U.S. citizens living in New Jersey.
At the time, Murphy brushed aside criticism from Republican lawmakers who argued taxpayers should not be funding the college education of immigrants living in the country illegally.
“I’d even invite any of those folks who have that attitude, beginning with our president, to come on into this room and allow me or any of us to say, ‘This is the United States of America,’” Murphy said at the May 2018 bill signing ceremony at Rutgers-Newark filled with “Dreamer” students.
Recent high school graduates and new students beginning college have until Sept. 15 to apply for the aid using New Jersey Alternative Financial Aid Application, which is designed for undocumented immigrants.
There is no cap on how many undocumented students can received aid. The state Legislature initially projected the new law would give aid to about 600 students at a cost of $5 million a year.
Undocumented students remain ineligible for federally-funded financial aid programs, including Pell Grants and federally-backed student loans.
The 749 undocumented students who received New Jersey-funded college aid during the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters enrolled in public and private colleges around the state.
Here are the schools they attended, ranked by the amount of financial aid awarded to undocumented students:
(Note: The number of awards listed is not the number of undocumented students attending each school. Some undocumented students received multiple financial aid awards each semester from state financial aid programs, including Tuition Aid Grants, NJ STARS scholarships, Education Opportunity Fund grants and County College Opportunity Grants.)
1. Rutgers University
Amount awarded: $1,346,974
Number of awards: 328
2. New Jersey Institute of Technology
Amount awarded: $273,610
Number of awards: 59
3. Saint Peter’s University
Amount awarded: $271,671
Number of awards: 45
4. Montclair State University
Amount awarded: $206,850
Number of awards: 63
5. Bergen Community College
Amount awarded: $135,532
Number of awards: 111
6. Passaic County Community College
Amount awarded: $127,869
Number of awards: 117
7. New Jersey City University
Amount awarded: $125,888
Number of awards: 42
8. Bloomfield College
Amount awarded: $123,866
Number of awards: 21
9. Essex County College
Amount awarded: $104,710
Number of awards: 99
10. Union County College
Amount awarded: $87,059
Number of awards: 69
11. Rowan University
Amount awarded: $74,771
Number of awards: 24
12. Kean University
Amount awarded: $74,648
Number of awards: 26
13. William Paterson University
Amount awarded: $62,360
Number of awards: 20
14. Raritan Valley Community College
Amount awarded: $60,051
Number of awards: 57
15. Seton Hall University
Amount awarded: $58,337
Number of awards: 13
16. Berkeley College
Amount awarded: $56,435
Number of awards: 11
17. Hudson County Community College
Amount awarded: $53,804
Number of awards: 47
18. Brookdale Community College
Amount awarded: $50,899
Number of awards: 43
19. Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan campus
Amount awarded: $48,462
Number of awards: 8
20. County College of Morris
Amount awarded: $44,824
Number of awards: 38
21. Atlantic Cape Community College
Amount awarded: $43,959
Number of awards: 48
22. College of New Jersey
Amount awarded: $40,845
Number of awards: 10
23. Middlesex County College
Amount awarded: $40,796
Number of awards: 39
24. Felician University
Amount awarded: $39,933
Number of awards: 9
25. Caldwell University
Amount awarded: $38,814
Number of awards: 6
26. Georgian County University
Amount awarded: $35,799
Number of awards: 6
27. Rider University
Amount awarded: $31,540
Number of awards: 6
28. Camden County College
Amount awarded: $31,425
Number of awards: 29
29. Ocean County College
Amount awarded: $30,723
Number of awards: 31
30. Fairleigh Dickinson University- Florham campus
Amount awarded: $30,700
Number of awards: 5
31. Mercer County Community College
Amount awarded: $30,205
Number of awards: 28
32. Cumberland County College
Amount awarded: $29,922
Number of awards: 31
33. Stockton University
Amount awarded: $14,586
Number of awards: 6
34. College of Saint Elizabeth
Amount awarded: $12,938
Number of awards: 2
35. Ramapo College
Amount awarded: $11,895
Number of awards: 4
36. Warren County Community College
Amount awarded: $10,996
Number of awards: 14
37. Monmouth University
Amount awarded: $10,970
Number of awards: 2
38. Rowan College at Burlington County
Amount awarded: $10,681
Number of awards: 13
39. Eastwick College- Hackensack
Amount awarded: $3,650
Number of awards: 1
40. Rowan College at Gloucester County
Amount awarded: $2,907
Number of awards: 3
Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter@KellyHeyboer. Find her atKellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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