Undocumented Students

Words: 3398
Pages: 14

1.1 to 1.4 million students are living in the U.S. Only 7,000-13,000, of undocumented students continue their education and enroll in college (Closing the Gap, 2012). The optimism of these students decreases dramatically once they finish high school. The question is not why their optimism decreases but why the 7,000 to 13,000 students continue to remain optimistic. What fuels these undocumented students to enroll in college and continue with their education? Taking into consideration that undocumented students are aware of the struggles and barriers that they will face during their path to obtaining a degree. Undocumented students continue to remain optimistic and continue with their education at a community college despite the struggles and …show more content…
In the article title “The Case for Undocumented Students in Higher Education” it says “Every year, 65,000 students who have grown up in the United States graduate from high school…” (Eusebio,Mendoza, n.d) After spending time in an elementary or highschol a student adapts to the environment and begins to learn the English language. During the four years at a high-school, these undocumented students try their hardest to obtain the best grades possible. They want to succeed in the future and therefore they try their best during high school. Once they reach college, things start to change and they become more …show more content…
Even if the road is difficult and they constantly have to overpass barriers and struggles they remain optimistic. Their fuel is their families, and what motivates them to continue their education. Studies have shown that only 7% to 20% (Zarate, Burciaga, 2010) of undocumented students transferred to a four year university for a bachelor’s degree. The number remains low but these 7% to 20% are fuel by a dream of a better future for themselves and their families. This research was focus on two papers titled: “Undocumented, Studious, But Pessimistic: Perspective of undocumented Latino students in Chicago” by Dennis Kass, Michael Onstott, Lucila Rivas. The other paper was “Latinos and College Access: Trends and Future Directions” by Maria Estela Zarate and Rebeca Burciaga. The findings between these two papers correlate with my research. The optimism of undocumented students is high during high-school but once they reach college it start to decrease and many drop out. Those that continue are few but continue with their education regardless. Obtaining citizenship can change the life of these undocumented students. Many of them have a lot to offer and obtaining citizenship would make the journey much easier. They would be able to obtain more scholarships and receive help from the government to complete a full education. Undocumented students have the potential to take their education