Please note that this transcript was auto-generated. We apologize for any minor errors in spelling or grammar.

[00:00:00] Wonderful. Um, again, good morning everyone. My name is Andrea from Mifa. Um, I’ve been with Mifa for about a year, but prior to that I was a college and career counselor in East Boston for about eight years. And prior to that I worked at Trio Program for five years. Um, so I’ve been in this world in the Boston area for a minute.

Um, and so I’m just so pleased to be able to bring this content to you all. Um, if you are here, it’s because you probably work with students, um, with different immigration statuses or undocumented students. So I’m hopeful that, um, the next hour or so will touch upon a lot of the questions that we’ve been receiving.

Um, if you’ve been to one of my webinars before, this is, uh, definitely an updated version. Uh, we update it every year, but this year in particular, there are certain topics and certain questions that have been coming up a lot more. Um, so. Throughout the webinar, um, feel [00:01:00] free to drop, um, questions in the q and a.

Um, it would be great if you all used that feature. Um, we don’t have the chat feature enabled, so please use the q and a feature. Um, I am moderating and presenting, so I may not be able to see your question immediately, but I will make space and time to, to address all questions. Um, so thank you again for being here.

If you need to, um, uh, leave the webinar, just, uh, you can do so at any time. You will be, uh, receiving a recording of this as well as the slides in PDF format. So hopefully, um. If you miss something, uh, you’ll be able to, to catch up and also get your PDP point. Um, so welcome to everyone that just joined us.

We’re up to 101 attendees, which is wonderful, um, for this content. Um, so let’s get started. Um, this is a tough topic. Um, I myself have personal experience with this, um, my own [00:02:00] immigration status. And so I myself often have to, uh, make space and time to ground myself whenever I am presenting on this topic or in, you know, my PR previous job, um, previous role, um, in East Boston, working with my own students for this.

This is good to model too, as you are working with students. Um, you know, if you’re, um. In an, uh, teaching a class to your seniors, or if you are meeting with a family, um, it is really important to kind of even bring this concept to your communities of just being able to own our story, being able to self-reflect on what we’re bringing to certain conversations.

Um, and certainly when you’re working with students who you know, are undocumented or, um, have different types of immigration statuses. In front of them modeling that you’re acknowledging your awareness, your knowledge level, naming for them. You [00:03:00] know, I might not be so knowledgeable, but I’m here with you.

I wanna like be on this journey with you. Um, so do this for yourselves, but also, uh, feel free to bring this practice over to your professional setting. Um, definitely know that this topic is really, really hard. So if it’s hard for you, imagine how hard it is for someone who’s living through this, um, for, for themselves.

And so it’s just nice to kind of remind ourselves of these grounding practices, um, for ourselves, but again for our students. So I wanna like lead us all in, in this right now, um, as we embark on the next hour together. These are some of my key takeaway points, um, for this presentation today, for this workshop.

Um, and I have to be honest, I’ve been doing this workshop, um, in and around the Boston area and Massachusetts and even, you know, in certain, uh, cases nationally for about a decade, um, a long time. [00:04:00] And I have to say this is the first year in a little while where I’ve had to really take pause and reassess some of the content.

Um, things are happening around us, um, nationally especially, that are, make, making this content right now particularly salient and particularly, um, uh. Nuanced. And so I try to organize my own thinking, thinking about how it’s evolved in the last few years and wanna just, um, equip you all with these five takeaway points that I hope you bring with you in your, into your practice.

Um, you know, regardless of all of the other content I’m gonna share, really, um. Bring these five points into your practice if you can, um, as soon as you can. So the first one is definitely with, especially with this population being proactive is gonna be so, so important, not reactive. Um, what do I mean by that?

Um, putting things in place. [00:05:00] Um, looking at your lesson plans, looking at your decorations around your office, and just being proactive about little tweaks that you can make or big tweaks, um, that, that show this population. Show your students, show your team that you’re thinking about this and it might not be, um, something that you talk about every single day, but that you are ready, um, and willing to help.

And you have the resources kind of ready if a student should come to you, if a, if staff member or family member has a question. So definitely being proactive. Hopefully, I’ll give you some tidbits today that will help you put this into action. The second one is really, really important. And I di I haven’t said this actually in a while.

Um, federally speaking, we had been in a really good place for a long time, especially starting in 2012 with daca. And then, you know, it kind of sort of kept building. Um, there was good momentum with, with certain immigration policies. And then of course things have [00:06:00] shifted, um, toward immigrants recently.

And so, I actually haven’t said this particular bullet point in a while, but I wanna bring it back front and center. We need to, as practitioners dial in on local state resources for this population. I used to say in, um, my presentations and supporting other practitioners, you know. Years ago. Um, you know, if, if a, if a student has, you know, a family member that you know they can live with in California and, and could, could go there and establish residency and, you know, be able to, after a little while, pay and stay tuition.

Like there’s ways that we can be creative and really, you know, think big. And now that is not the moment to do that. Now it’s the moment to really own what is available for our students here in Massachusetts with tuition equity and the good things that have come out of this hyperlocal context and [00:07:00] not necessarily, um.

Think about, you know, uh, other opportunities out there, especially the ones that for an undocumented student might involve travel or putting themselves in physical, sort of immigration peril. And so really thinking about what do we have around here? Let’s stay local. Um, in terms of resources, there’s a lot here in Massachusetts, which is really, really good to sort of counteract what’s happening at the federal level.

That’s not to say a student can’t go outta state to go to college, you know, if, if you have a, a student that’s applying to, I don’t know, a highly selective, uh, college in another New England state, I’m not saying they shouldn’t do that. I’m just more saying for your general population to really maximize the resources that are available here locally.

Especially because many of our local policies. Citywide, but also, um, or city to city, but also, you know, from the state are really immigrant [00:08:00] friendly. Um, so it’s, it’s just nice to know that and to name that. Uh, definitely equipping your students and community with legal aid knowledge, um, resources for making a legal plan.

You know, you don’t have to be an expert on this, but it, it would be nice to have, have resources available to your students should they come to you and express that they’re nervous about an upcoming, um, you know, uh, court date or, or you know, different pieces. And so, um, there are some slides in here with resources that you can point your, your students to.

Definitely continuing to foster an undocu friendly atmosphere. Now is not the time to go back and, you know, to model going into the shadows and not talking about this for fear of, you know, uh, retribution or for fear of the students will get deported. I mean, it’s a scary world out there right now. Um, but what your students need is a safe space.

And so if that’s your immediate office or [00:09:00] maybe your senior, uh, senior college counseling class, whatever that small, um. Context is focus on making it un undocu friendly. And don’t be afraid to talk about it. Don’t be afraid to just present the resources. Um, you talking about it is not gonna endanger your students at all.

Um, even students self disclosing to you is not gonna endanger them. It’s really, um, the pieces around, you know, what you do with that information, where it’s written and I hope it’s not written. You know what I mean? It’s, it’s what you do, that information that you need to be careful with, but actually talking about it and expressing that you are, um, an un undocu friendly educator will go a long way.

And then of course, students should not give up on their post-secondary dreams and plans. It’s, it’s a tough, tough environment out there. Um, you just need to get more creative with your students, um, and self-disclosure, allowing students the space and time to when they’re ready, self-disclose to you. [00:10:00] We’ll go a long way.

So I just spend a lot of time talking about those takeaway points. We have so many slides, but I just wanted to kind of set the scene for all of us as we dive in. And there might be some slides I don’t get to today because our time is limited, and I could go on and on about this for hours. But just know that you’re gonna get the slides, and if I don’t touch upon every single piece in the slides, you’ll still have that content, um, in front of you, in, in your, in your possession.

And then please reach out to me anytime time at Mifa. I’m always here to thought partner with you or maybe do additional trainings at your school. Whatever you all might need, I’m happy to support. So the first piece, I, you heard me mention this about self-disclosure. Um, it’s really important, especially now, which is counterintuitive, right?

Because now we have ice presence, we have just a lot of bad things happening outside of our, um, immediate sort of control, which is, you know, potentially our [00:11:00] office or school. Um, and so it’s counterintuitive to think, well now actually it’s even more important for students to feel safe to self-disclose.

Um, self-disclosure is important. So self-disclosure is when your students, um, take it upon themselves. So it’s student initiated to share with you that they are undocumented or to share with you, uh, intricacies about their immigration status. So that is what self-disclosure means, and it’s so, so important when you’re doing college counseling work or school counseling work, um, because.

If you know the extent of their situation, you’ll be able to better guide them and better point them to resources. Right? Of course. Now given the hostile environment, it federally and you know, just everywhere really, um, students might feel more scared to do this or might not know that it’s safe. So it’s really our responsibility as counselors to think about, [00:12:00] well, how can I make it, um, so that students know that I’m a safe person to do that?

And I think sharing with students. Um, you know, if you are doing a, you know, every, anything that you share with me, the counseling team stays with us. Just with, you know, internally peel, please feel free to share as much as you, you can. We won’t ever write anything down. We won’t ever share anything, and families can interpret that.

However, they will, you know, same goes for, you know, say financial information or, um, special circumstances you might put in the CSS profile, right? It’s all so, so sensitive. So you’re just naming that and giving students examples like, you know, feel free to share, you know, things about your financial status or your immigration status, or this or that.

You know, clump it into what. The work that you’re already doing to normalize the conversations, um, don’t necessarily, um, single it out. Um, and so think little things like that, just the [00:13:00] messaging that they hear can go a long way toward, you know, when they’re ready, them being able to share with you, say in a family meeting, um, that they’re actually worried about their immigration status.

Um. Especially nowadays, we’ve heard the term mixed status family. People who immigrate to the US as you know, have so many different immigration statuses or lack thereof, and many of your families are in what’s called a mixed status family. So maybe the student is a citizen, actually. But then the fa the parents are undocumented.

Um, I’ve had it where maybe, uh, the. One sibling is undocumented, but two, the two younger siblings are citizens ’cause they were born here. So you, you might have a lot of, um, even differences between statuses within one family. And of course this is important the earlier you know this because this may impact their financial aid process.

Even just the [00:14:00] anxiety that a citizen student might feel knowing that their parents are undocumented. They might internalize, I can’t apply to college, or I can’t get money if my parents are undocumented. So we need to. Kind of combat those stereotypes and, and that misinformation. But sometimes you just have to just say it and have it that be part of your messaging before you even know if some of your students are actually in that situation.

Hopefully, the more they hear it, the more they hear you addressing these, this, these situations kind of in a blanket statement for everyone. The more they might say, okay, maybe you know, miss so-and-so, she seems to, you know, be talking about this a lot. Maybe I’ll let her know next time, you know, my mom comes in that, you know, I’m, I am worried about this.

So students kind of internalize everything you’re, you’re saying and then hopefully, eventually trust you enough to self-disclose. So educators, as you might know, and you may have heard me say this before in other [00:15:00] webinars, you can never ask the student or family what their immigration status is. This is so, so important.

Never do it. Please don’t. Um, it just is not something that, um. I would ever say that you should do. Um, it goes against, uh, especially there’s, you know, Supreme Court president, um, through Plyler versus DOE in the eighties that, um, guarantees every student K through 12 a free public education regardless of immigration status.

So there’s legal president here, can never and ever ask this, but once a student self discloses to you, I want you to feel empowered to just go for it. Ask follow up questions, bring it up respectfully and appropriately as needed. Um, so once they kind of open up those gates, feel free green light. Um, always circle back with the student.

Thank them for trusting you. Um, [00:16:00] and it’s really important to kind of, um, honor and, and feel actually quite special that they trusted you enough to self disclose. If you suspect there might be an immigration concern, so maybe you’re meeting with a senior family, they’re coming in, they’re hesitant to fill out a fafsa, but you’re not sure why.

I don’t know. There might be other clues. Um, definitely use open-ended questions like is there anything else you wanna share with me that might allow me to help you in your process? Anything at all financial, immigration related, um, you know, anything that you think could be worth sharing. Um, I would never share it with anybody else.

Stays within, you know, this safe space. You know, always be, be comfortable enough hopefully to ask those open-ended questions. That is not the same. And a general open-ended question is not the same as asking a student directly, Hey, what’s your immigration status? Right? So, so definitely be careful there, but also [00:17:00] feel empowered to ask those open-ended questions.

Um, especially if you’re a counselor, definitely avoid writing emails, um, with sensitive information, but especially before a student or family has given permission to spread the information to others regarding their status. So sometimes, for example, in my previous role, um, when I was school-based, um, if a student self-disclosed to me, I would thank them.

I would say, you know, I won’t tell anybody unless I needed to. Then I would go to the student first and say, Hey. Um, Andrea, um, actually I think, you know, you think you shared with me about your immigration status. Um, would it be okay if I shared it with Ms. So and so You can be in that meeting too, but I, I would love to, um, have some thought partnership with another, you know, staff member that’s an expert on, um, I dunno, um, expert on sports recruitment.

Um, I’d love to be able to share it with [00:18:00] this, this teacher so that they can help me help you. So be very, very explicit about who you’re sharing the information with. Um, ask for the student’s permission. Once a student says yes, bring them into the conversation. If, if they wanna be part of it, they should.

So definitely, you know, I encourage all of you to be open in those ways with your students. Very, very transparent. Um, and then don’t keep a written list anywhere. Um, and so just some ideas that I hope you all take back to your respective spaces. You know, is there any way to make my office, my space, my classrooms, my.

You know, physical space, more un undocu friendly. I used to say also make your online spaces more undocu friendly. But now, you know, there is, we do need to be a little bit more careful, but what we’re putting out there publicly just because of, um, you know, certain agencies out there that might be [00:19:00] monitoring certain things.

So I would be careful about online presence. So, you know, in COVID times I used to say, you know, add a poster to your Bitmoji classroom saying I’m on docu friendly. You know, certain things like that are, are cute and can go a long way. Now, I would say maybe, you know, be a little bit more careful about your online presence, um, in, in these ways.

So certainly, you know, if you have a counseling office, uh, website, um, you know. You might not necessarily, uh, be as open with your help that you’re providing undocumented students, but definitely physical space, paper space, you know, sorry, not paper space, but um, physical collateral, material, all of that. I think you should, uh, feel free to be as explicit as you would like.

Um, I’m gonna take a pause and just double check the questions. Um, yes, the slides will be shared after. [00:20:00] Um, and let’s see. So we have three questions here. Um, yes. So there’s a really good question here about do I recommend sharing Mafa info on the website? Definitely. So something that, because MAFA is a state initiative, um.

I would definitely share that along with any of your FAFSA materials. So a way that I would, um, just build it into what you’re already doing. Again, let’s try to not be so secretive about this when it’s in your own community. So a way that I would say it is if you’re putting it on Instagram and advertising a FAFSA completion event, maybe you say, come to this event and we’ll help you complete your FAFSA or your mafa.

So definitely build it into what you’re already doing, especially if it’s financial aid related, definitely just add it to the discourse. Um, if you’re promoting, um, FAFSA meetings, maybe you, you promote them as financial aid meetings and in the sub-bullets you can say, [00:21:00] come get help on your fafsa, SFA CSS profile, um, institutional forms, verification.

Just come get it all. And it just part becomes part of the discourse. Um, so that’s, that’s a really good question. Um, the training will end at, uh, nine 30 and I usually go a few minutes over, but that’s a good question. Thank you for asking that. Um, how do you support a student who was born in the US but parents are undocumented and they’re afraid to file the fafsa?

Also, in the same scenario, would they be able to take advantage of the free community college without filing for fafsa? That is a great question. We will get to that. There’s a whole financial aid section in this, um, presentation. Thank you for asking it. Um. Someone works at I-H-I-H-E with early college students.

They’re concerned about their application requirement and requirement of statuses for participation. I’m looking for the best way to communicate this concern to our registrar and institutional [00:22:00] research departments. Any advice? Um, that is a great question. Um, I would, I would definitely ask you a follow up, um, which is to say what is required for funding and what is not.

Um, if, if there are certain pieces that are required for funding, um, then maybe there are ways that you collect the information that isn’t the way that you’ve been collecting the information. Um, so that is a really, really great question. Joanne. Thank you for asking that. Um, and I think if you wanna get in touch with me after the workshop, I’m.

So happy to thought partner with you, um, because this is such a specific question to your organization. Um, but happy to, to share best practices that I’ve heard from other organizations regarding collecting information from, from their students. Uh, another, another question. What is your opinion regarding completing financial aid forms such as FAFSA or sfa [00:23:00] without knowing the student status or current family status?

Can completing any of these forms affect their immigration status or target them? What organizations are safe to navigate this process? So many questions around FAFSA safety. I do have some slides around this that we’ll get to. I think generally speaking, you want to be as transparent as possible with students about what the requirements are or what statuses they need or don’t need to file, either the FAFSA or masa.

So just putting the list of statuses that are eligible for FAFSA in one of your college counseling slides. Right? Students are smart enough to kind of see that they might not raise their hand and ask question live in the classroom, but they might be able to see, uh. Um, information about, oh, I heard my mom say I have that status, Ms.

So-and-so just highlighted it as a status eligible for fafsa. Cool. Or, oh, I don’t have any of these statuses, so Miss, miss so-and-so is telling me that I can file the mafa. So just [00:24:00] being so transparent with your seniors about who is eligible, who is not, and then always follow up with if you have questions, your counselor is trained on how to navigate this safely, please share information with us.

It stays private. The more we know, the more we can help. You can be that directive in your communications with students. Um, what OSSA is saying around the mafa is that you students can only fill out one or the other. Um, so if they are eligible for fafsa, if they’re a citizen eligible, non non-citizen, or have any of the eligible statuses, they should be filling out fafsa.

If they don’t. Have the ability to fill out FAFSA because of their status, then they should be filling out the mafa if they qualify as a high school completer. Um. And so I think the best you can do is share the information with students, have them kind of process that through their own [00:25:00] filter, and then hope and trust that they’ll come to you for help.

Um. Completing these forms, um, will not affect their immigration status, but there are currently some concerns around the possibility in the future of certain federal agencies potentially sharing information with other federal agencies. So I’ll address that in a few minutes. Um, right now that is not happening, uh, for, but still.

Um. Certainly active and protecting student information at the federal level. Um, but there are, um, some concerns in the future that might not be the case. So I think all you can do is share that with your students, have them make the decision. But I would say it’s hard to say don’t file a fafsa, right?

Because three years down the line, or four months down the line, there might be some, some issues with, with information. Um, it’s really tough, tough situation and there are no right answers. So I would say just equip your [00:26:00] students with the information and have them make different, um, you know, their own choices.

Um. Targeting wise, I know Massachusetts and sfa, the office is doing financial assistance, is working on making the mafa, um, a little tighter, a little bit more secure, asking less questions about certain things. So things aren’t always in writing, just as a precaution for whatever might happen in the future.

So I know SFA from the state level is very much thinking about ways to make the mafa safer, but as of right now, there have been no threats or, um, any, um, you know, danger to students’ information that’s going into the mafa.

Um, with Mafa, how do we know that protections are strong enough? Uh, this is a place where all of our student statuses are housed. Yeah, that’s a great question. So we’ve talked to, uh, folks at osfa and they are currently making provisions for this. Um, so it is not lost on them that prior [00:27:00] iterations of the Mafa did ask for a lot of information.

Um, and they’re actively trying to think of ways to, to make it, like I said, a little tighter, a little bit more secure. Um, so definitely more to come on that. I have not heard any official statements. I have not heard any official, um, sort of guidance around this, but I do know they’re taking it very seriously.

So I would not discourage your students from filling out a mafa. I would still encourage them. To do it. Um, because at the state level, there are more protections available to students and at the federal level. So remember that earlier bullet point I said, you know, focus on the state, the local, um, we have more power at the state level.

There are more protections at the state level. Um, so definitely the state piece is something that I would trust more at the moment as a practitioner.

Um, our immigration [00:28:00] rights group stating an opinion regarding federal government and the disclosing on the fafsa. That is a really good question. Um, I have a slide in here about, um, the President’s Alliance on higher education. They’ve done some really great research, um, on this question, but no one is, you’ll find that no one is saying yes, fill out a fafsa.

No, don’t fill out a fafsa. The best we can do is, um, explain to students what the situation is and what different, um, sort of avenues. An agency would have to go through to obtain FAFSA information. And so I’ll talk a little bit about the work that the President’s Alliance on Higher Education is doing, um, to kind of address the gap, um, that I think practitioners feel about where can I get actual information that tells me if the FAFSA information is compromised.

So definitely encourage you to take a look at the [00:29:00] President’s, um, Alliance on Higher Education. They’re a great resource with very capable public policy, uh, professionals working to make this information accessible to practitioners. So there is a slide on this later. Um, so we, we can definitely review it then.

Um, great. Um, so let’s, let’s, uh, continue. Um, I’m gonna kind of, uh, skip over this slide quickly. Um. But definitely wanna point you to the higher education immigration portal and the education trust. Um, in my previous role as a counselor, I would open up these resources live with a senior per, for example, and just like show them the different pieces of, um, what it means to have their status.

Definitely, um, empowering the student to really own this journey, knowing that you’re gonna be walking right alongside them. Um, that I think that gives students a lot of [00:30:00] strength to know that there’s gonna be a rocky road, um, that you’re gonna have to get creative in this process. That there are outside forces at play here that might feel hard, but that they’re strong, they’re powerful, and that, that you are right along with them, um, on the journey.

I think that that’s really important. I think our, um, my, I should say my, uh, instinct is to protect them, to shield them, to shelter them, but actually the opposite is probably what’s gonna set them up. Better to be very, very honest about the hurdles that they might face in the process. And then to just like jump through those hurdles, uh, with them.

On the legal side, um, these are four resources that are really, really good that you should look into, um, bookmark and have available for your students, especially if you hear that a student is, um, currently going through a legal process. So, uh, I say Lucce, but [00:31:00] it might be Luce, I’m not sure. LUCE, immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts.

They have, um, a very active network of, um. Of just monitoring right now in the state regarding ICE presence. They have downloadable, uh, wallet cards for families. I would say just if you have a print budget or even if you don’t print some of these wallet cards, um, by the stack, make them available in your office.

Um, the Meira Coalition, um, the Massachusetts, Massachusetts, uh, immigrant Refugee Advocacy Coalition has been just a trusted partner, um, for years. They have a legal aid resources page and then, um, they have a provider directory within that. They have a really great po uh, policy updates page and back to school resources for students and families.

So please peruse that just to beef up, um, the materials that you have available, the [00:32:00] printouts, posters, all of that. Speaking of posters, immigrants, immigrants Rising is a great national organization. They, they are based under California, so some of the resources can be a little California centric. Um, but they have an amazing scholarship search, a very robust career info page for undocumented students.

So as you’re having those conversations about post-secondary plans with your seniors, um, they have an amazing toolkit for young professionals who are undocumented. They can read more about how to become independent contractors, what different licenses mean. Um, it’s just a phenomenal resource, um, for pretty much every aspect of the undocumented identity.

Um, so check that out. It’s curated. With educators in mind. Um, but they, like I said, have a few sections that are, uh, by and for undocumented young professionals And Youth in schools is a great, uh, immigrant led organizations with toolkits [00:33:00] for educational organizations that I know. They also do consulting and, and partner with different districts just to bring in more undocu friendly knowledge into the classroom.

So this is a little bit more on the pedagogical side, but if you’re on your, um, school’s administration team and wanna just dive a little deeper on how you can, um, just bring it more awareness and resources into the classroom, the teaching, uh, and learning aspect of your school, definitely check out in schools.

Um, in terms of, sorry, I just clicked quickly. Um, just gonna wanna touch upon some admissions pieces and financial aid pieces, um, to try to make the most of our 30 minutes that we have left. And then I’ll, I’ll do another pause for questions, um, after this section. Um, so I wanna give credit to, um, a friend of mine that worked in the [00:34:00] Trio program with me.

Um, she was, she and I, um, started presenting on this topic, um, just from a real admissions perspective, like back in 2015. And she was the first one to make this, um, diagram here. So I wanna give her credit. She’s currently a counselor at Snowden. Um, I just thought that this was like a great visual and so I was, as I was looking at past slides, I was like, oh, I’m gonna bring this back.

So thank you. You know who you are for making this. Um, but really it’s. It’s just a nice representation of the different ways that we can be creative while our undocumented students are in high school. I think we often, because we’re so busy, get very caught up in the actual admissions process of it all and the strategy, but so much can also be done to, um, inform sort of their financial wellbeing, especially if they’re undocumented while they’re in high school.

So the classic, I’m sure [00:35:00] you’ve heard, you know, and you’ve seen AP exams, they’re grade, they can, students can use, uh, AP credits at many colleges. Of course, AP exams, uni a student needs to score three or higher. They’re more challenging courses might not be, um. Something that every single student is taking advantage of.

A lot of our undocumented students or immigrant students, many of them tend to be more recent newcomers, um, or they, they might be L students. And so while AP is a great resource to take advantage of, I wanna draw your attention also to KLE exams and to dual enrollment. Um, KLE is. Highly underutilized. Um, I, we’ve talked to a lot of, uh, two year community colleges in the state of Massachusetts and many of them, um, will give students, um, credits for [00:36:00] KLE exams that they take.

And so especially to fulfill certain, uh, for example, elective requirements. Say you’re, uh, you have a student going to Bunker Hill and they’re in the general concentration, or they wanna do general concentration, you know, if you look at the list of required courses. They do include some elective courses in there.

A club exam in Spanish can help fulfill some of those credits to save the student time and money later on. So, especially for your newcomers, you know, while a student might not have the strongest math grades, or maybe they do, um, the strongest, you know, um, content knowledge in certain areas, some of them do have language knowledge.

Some of them do have, um, knowledge of, of certain subjects. So utilizing and playing to their strengths, uh, via club exam could be a nice way to, um, save them a little money. And same with dual enrollment. Um, if your school offers partnerships, um, with colleges that offer dual enrollment courses, [00:37:00] another great way for an undocumented student or a student with, you know.

Um, different types of, uh, immigration statuses to, uh, get some early college credits. Um, this is also where you as an administrator can, can certainly use your voice and your privilege to advocate for more dual enrollment opportunities, especially if your high school is around certain private institutions that might be willing to partner.

Some private institutions with dual enrollment, um, have less, um, uh, immigration or, uh, legal or status requirements when it comes to who, which students can receive funding. Um, so I always try to, um, empower you all to advocate for your students, um, via dual enrollment. Um, can be a great, um, sort of leadership opportunity for many of you.

Um, definitely, you know, obviously best practice for any student is to ask [00:38:00] your students so many questions about, uh, what they want for themselves to empower them, uh, to voice what they want. And I think I mentioned this in this presentation because they have many students who are undocumented, you know, often their status is what takes precedence, even with well-meaning adults.

But it’s important to have their status, not define every interaction that you have with them. And I get our time is limited. You have to be very tactical in your meetings with students, but making space and time to also say what makes you happy, what are your interests? And we know that, you know, you might say, I know that certain careers you might need a work permit for, so let’s try to brainstorm, you know, ways that you can still study and work in your.

And that path that brings you joy. Um, even with, you know, some of the hurdles you might have to, um, [00:39:00] you know, get over. Um, you can hold both things. You know, it’s gonna be a little harder because of your status, but also like we should aim to get you on a path that brings you joy. You don’t have to necessarily settle.

Um, if they say they really want to go into a medical career, often that is really tricky, obviously if they’re completely undocumented, but are there some medical adjacent careers that could really fill their cups while maybe they’re, um, on a path to, um, work with a lawyer toward, you know, a certain status.

And so also asking students, you know, what’s your end goal? Are you okay waiting maybe five, 10 years until you can reach that, you know, if they’re currently working with a lawyer and their court hearing’s not for another six years, which happens, you might say, okay. Your goal of being, this might not happen in two, three years, but if you’re okay with waiting until you have that work permit, what can you do in the meantime [00:40:00] that is working toward that long-term goal?

So it’s really important to bring students into the conversation, especially when document students of not just what makes you happy, let’s make it happen. But what are the constraints that we have? And then let’s think long term. How is that? What, what are you gonna do now? What are you gonna do in the next two years?

What are you gonna do in the next five years to make this happen? And many students have to, or you might say, you know, it might be good if you go to a legal screening and see what options might be there for you because, you know, eventually you’re gonna stop being a student and you wanna be able to start working.

And, and how are we gonna do that? Um, maybe it’s talking to them about becoming an independent contractor, especially if they’re into creative careers, the arts, um, marketing, music, um, creative things like graphic design, art, but even like business accounting [00:41:00] people, uh, students can go into these fields, uh, and work for themselves.

And so really giving texture to the conversation so it’s not just, alright, what do you wanna major in? Go to this college, but allowing them to make a five, 10 year plan and, and giving them the space to wrestle with the fact that their path might not look exactly like other students, but that’s okay. And that might take them time to come to terms with, but it’s really important, especially for an undocumented student to have those conversations and to say, alright, my path will look different, but I can still get there.

Um, for colleges in particular, if your students are looking to go to college to get to that end goal a two year or four year, um, I would encourage them right now in this political climate to stay as local as they can. Um, and definitely [00:42:00] you as a counselor can vet for undocu friendly colleges. It’s now more important than ever.

Um. Build a network of other counselors that you can reach out to reach out to me. Um, my email address is at the end of these slides. Um, but I can also, um, you know, share it a [email protected] and you’ll obviously get a copy of the slides, but reach out to others and just gut check. Hey. I have an undocumented student that wants to apply to this college in Pennsylvania.

What do you think about that? Have you heard that other undocumented students have gone there? Um, what are some colleges that might be similar to that but maybe a little bit more un undocu friendly? Um, you can clem a lot about whether a college is un undocu friendly by just visiting their website. But the more local you stay, the higher the chances that that college is un undocu friendly.

Just because naturally where we’re located in the country, um, even though [00:43:00] a college might be undocu friendly because they might have certain, um, merit aid that is, you know, that they can give all students or that they have special scholarship programs. UMass Boston, for example, has, um, all of their scholarships open to any student regardless of immigration status.

Even though a college might be on undocu friendly, you also wanna, um, name for students that individual people at that college might not know everything. So to not get discouraged if they call up the financial aid office and they get someone on the other line, on the other side that says, actually, I don’t know, um, maybe said something a little weird.

Um, just definitely encourage students to know that. Knowledge levels around this subject vary widely in terms of, um, just individual employees at different colleges. So you might, um, need to make a little extra time for your undocumented students to maybe to make those phone calls, advocacy calls, [00:44:00] uh, with them, um, so that you know, in case they run into someone that’s not so forthcoming or friendly, that they don’t get discouraged and, you know, give up on applying to that college, for example, if you know that that college is really un undocu friendly.

The next three slides are sample roadmap, um, for ways that you can think about different, uh, students and their sort of where they are academically and therefore what, uh, opportunities they might have for, especially for a four year college. Um, so definitely we know that the higher the GPA, the more, um, the more selective the institutions will be, that the students, uh, can get into and therefore get the most money.

So this band of students is definitely the easiest to work with in terms of financial possibilities because we know that they might get into, um, certain institutions that do meet full need. So this is great and this is why, you know, getting into those ninth grade [00:45:00] classrooms early and encouraging students to know about this, um, is really important.

Um. But I think the biggest hurdle that I see here for documented families, and this goes for first gen families, low income families, is just the family’s hesitancy to, um. To understand why the student might want to apply to certain institutions that might not be in the Boston area. Um, I came across this a lot in my former school where I had maybe a four point, you know, we had a 4.0 scale, maybe a 4.3 GPA student want to apply to an SCA college at a state, and the family not understanding why.

That was a good, um, a good move. And so even though I keep saying stay local, stay local, there might be some colleges that are very, um, uh. Very attractive options for students that are not in state. So again, don’t take this to say don’t leave Massachusetts, but if [00:46:00] you are gonna leave Massachusetts allowing, um, and empowering your students to be discerning of like, where makes sense for me to, to do this?

Um, especially if there is plane travel involved, that makes me nervous given the current climate. Um, so if you are gonna leave Massachusetts, I would, I would go where students can, can get there by car. Um, but you know, a applying to a college in, you know, three hours away in Maine might not be something a family feels comfortable with.

And I think that’s the biggest hurdle I think that, that I find with, uh, or I found with, with, um, sort of this band of, of students and families. If there are GPA between a 3, 3 7, think about, um, definitely the merit aid scholarships. Think about talking to students about living at home, um, and saving on room and board.

Um. And. This could be a really, an interesting band to think about, uh, [00:47:00] strategic under matching and sort of spreading the wealth across your, your students and your teammates. So if you know in your school, in your immediate counseling office that each counselor has a few undocumented students in their caseload, I would meet with the counselors, have a little staff meeting where you say, alright, uh, let’s strategize.

We have that we know of eight undocumented students, if they all apply to Suffolk, not all of them are gonna, you know, get the money that they need. So let’s see, let’s, let’s spread the wealth, let’s strategically undermatch, let’s counsel students, um, to apply to, you know, more than just these two schools and really try to be strategic about, um.

The institutions that your undocumented students are, um, applying to. And I don’t mean to be, um, manipulative, right, or to be too directive with students of you must only apply to these schools, I tell you. But to, to understand that [00:48:00] as a team, your counseling office can work to really spread out the different institutions that you know, um, are close to your schools.

Students can live at home. Uh, they give good merit aid. That is like the sweet spot, I think, for this band of, of students. And definitely, um, being aware of certain strategic under matches, uh, for these students. If your students have a lower GPA, but still, you know, are like motivated, um, definitely talking to them about all of the amazing two year programs here in Massachusetts, um, especially if they’ve been in high school for at least.

Three years. Um, they qualify for all of the state aid. Um, so, um, mass educate, um, mass reconnect, um, mafa in-state, you know, in-state tuition. Um, additional state financial aid. They qualify for all of it. [00:49:00] Um, and so definitely encouraging your lower GA students to not give up on their dreams, to take advantage of the state, uh, financial aid.

It’s truly a gift that we didn’t have, you know, a few years ago. So definitely taking advantage of it is really, really important. Um. Some students might not be fully undocumented, so they might have a work permit in that case, they have a few more options in terms of post-secondary plans, like, uh, year Up, uh, other programs that require, um, a work permit, like different apprenticeships.

You know, they might be able to have a few more easier options if they have that work permit. Um, so definitely this is again, why the self-disclosure matters, why asking questions matters, because if you know the student has a work permit, you might be able to, you know, drive them toward other, um, great options as well.

Um, other two, four year programs, uh, you know, end Cop [00:50:00] Man Loan School, Franklin Cummings has a lot of shorter, um, degrees, and I’m really stressing the shorter, um, credentials here because they’re cheaper. Um, and that’s not to say they’re, uh, you know, what every student should be doing, but if a student, you know, has like a 2.5 out of 4G PA or 2.1 or lower, you know, they might not be getting the merit aid that they wanna be getting four year colleges.

Um, so maybe the two year or certificate options are a better choice. Um, and so thinking about what exists UMass online, I think is a sleeper for me. Um, if I’m honest. Um, I had students look into some of their like, um, certificate programs they could do online. You know, some of them are, were like $3,000, $4,000.

Um. And, you know, if a student’s been working and, and has money that they wanna invest into a cool [00:51:00] certificate program that aligns with their interests. There are are ways to be creative. There’s a lot of, um, sort of the professional education, um, uh, arms of different colleges. Like Berkeley School of Music has some great shorter certificate online programs.

Um, you know, obviously the, um, Harvard, um, does too. So really getting creative with this band. Um, I used to find it really energizing when I got my students really excited for these alternative options that they didn’t really know existed. I also wanna share some scholarship resources here. Um, these are just my, my three go-to, especially the immigrants risings, uh, scholarship Resource guide is, is really well done and the Dreamers Roadmap app is, is nice for stuff, definitely this generation, um, being on their phones more.

These are some great local scholarship options. Um, just always wanna highlight UMass Boston’s academic works and the Bunker Hill scholarships. [00:52:00] Obviously this is hyper-local to Boston. Um, but this, I think, can serve as a reminder to, uh, reach out to your local, um, community colleges and your local four year institutions that are public, just to have kind of a list of what they offer, all of their scholarship opportunities that you can talk to students about, um, and educate yourself on.

And I wanna end, um, on, um, some financial aid updates. So I will probably go five minutes over. So do another 10 minutes of this webinar. Um, so if you can hang on, please do. If you can’t and have to log off right at nine 30, that’s okay too. You’ll get a recording. Um, before I launch into financial aid updates, um, just wanna, um, address some of the q and a.

Um, I think I answered a few of them already. Um, let’s see. Um.[00:53:00]

Yes. Um, someone else, um, I wanna, um, just call out that, um, that graphic I had with the dual enrollment. We can add early college there too. Thank you so much for that push. That’s great. Um, we are having a FAFSA night to support our students with their FAFSA applications. Is there a resource for Mass F that you might be able to provide someone who can assist students and staff with this process?

I can, um, definitely reach out to, uh, me, uh, and Mifa. Um, we’re happy to provide additional, um, Masa resources. Um, MIFA also is hosting a FAFSA festival on the 22nd, I believe, um, where we will be offering virtual help for Mafa as well. Um. What are your recommendations for including immigration status and limitations felt in the essay?

Um, this is a great question. Um, thank you for asking that. In the, uh, admissions, um, sort of section of the, the [00:54:00] presentation, I would say, um, it is fine to disclose. Statuses in a way that leaves it vague. I think, uh, in an essay, I would not necessarily given the current climate, just be extra cautious. I wouldn’t necessarily in written form in an essay, say I am un, you know, I came and overstayed my visa and I’m currently undocumented.

Um, you know, I wouldn’t state, you know, I have an asylum case, it’s pending. But if the student had to say that they’re undocumented, I think that if it’s central to the story and you’re coaching the student to really own the, their story and they feel strongly about telling this story, then I think it’s okay.

Um, I think where. Where it’s not okay. Students think that they have to share their status in order to really, um, show, you know, how hard [00:55:00] they’ve had it and, um, kind of make the admissions office feel sorry for them. I think if they’re going into the essay with the right reasons of saying, I’ve dealt with this, I’ve owned it, I’ve.

Healed or I’m in the process of healing from this, this very traumatic experience, maybe border crossing or something. You know, a family member having to be deported. If it’s a story that they feel comfortable sharing, I think it’s totally okay to put it in an essay. But again, not in a way that’s like, I think I have to tell the story ’cause it’s the saddest story I know.

Um, so definitely something counselors can help students think through. Like, do you, do you feel ready to tell the story? Do you want to tell the story? Are there offshoots of the story that you can tell without going into so many details, um, about your status or things that you just don’t wanna talk about that are really, really private?

Um, great. Um, how are students able to get around being able to take professional state licensing [00:56:00] certification exams once they have completed their post-secondary plans if they’re undocumented? So this is, um, a sticking point always, especially when it comes to medical careers. Um, if a student is completely undocumented, I would definitely be very upfront about certain licensing exams and just, um, how they won’t be able to get fully licensed, um, if they’re completely undocumented.

But if there are ways that they can work with a lawyer while they’re in college to think through their, potentially could be other statuses that could grant them a work permit, for example, even if they don’t have a permanent resident card or, um, you know, if they’re not citizens, they could still potentially in a few years procure work permit.

That’s a different story. And so I think being really frank about that, because there are certain careers that a completely undocumented person cannot have in Massachusetts, and [00:57:00] that’s just the reality of it. Um, but want to empower students to say, what can I do in the meantime? Um, that could maybe help procure me a work permit by the time I finish with my education.

Um, and I know that that’s probably not the answer we wanna hear right now, but just again, being transparent with the student, um, is the best policy. Um, I just wanna briefly review, um, these federal financial aid statuses, or sorry, statuses that are eligible for federal financial aid are in yellow. So you can see these are all the statuses that you might come across and that I’ve come across in my counseling career.

Um, only a few of them are eligible for federal financial aid. So all, all of the rest of them, like asylum pending, temporary protective status, conditional permanent resident, um, J and F Visas, daca. Um, they might come across your desk and so some of [00:58:00] these statuses might have work permits, some of them might not.

Um, I think it’s important to know that you don’t have to be an expert on all these statuses. You do have to though be an expert on your student and how you can tactfully and respectfully fact find more to really get to the bottom of certain things. Um, so I wanted to highlight these statuses in yellow because if a student lives in Massachusetts and does not have one of these yellow statuses, they should be filling out a mass fund.

Um, also just wanna point out the differences between these cards. Um, the green card is the one on the left, officially known as the permanent resident card and the employment authorization card on the right. So as soon as the student starts self-disclosing to you, a a follow-up question you might ask is, Hey, do you have a card as part of your status?

And if so, which one is it? I think the earlier that we ask that, the better because [00:59:00] students with the employment authorization card on the right can’t fill out a FAFSA most of the time, or actually all of the time. So. It’s would be really great in the moment when you’re breaking that news to them to say, Hey, you can’t fill out a fafsa, but you might be able to be, um, to fill out a mafa.

So let’s look into that. And again, we’re extremely lucky in Massachusetts that we have that to counter with. Um, you know, even three, four or five years ago we didn’t have that. It was no fafsa, um, no nothing. But now we do have the MASA here in Massachusetts. So it’s, it’s nice to soften that blow if it, you do have a situation where a student, um, shows up for a FAFSA meeting, for example, with that employment authorization card.

And you have to be the one to say, actually you can’t fill out a fafsa, but you can fill out a Masa. Um. The I 94 is also really important. So the I 94 is a form that’s either electronic or paper if they, um, [01:00:00] you know, came in, you know, a while ago. Um, the older ones are paper, the newer ones are all, uh, online, but I find that a lot of students and families confus the I 94 with an actual status.

So I 94 is just sort of the form that expresses how they came into the country with one of the non yellow statuses for the most part. Again, I’m not an immigration attorney, so I’m trying to use language that I understand, like counselors speak. Um. And so I’m, I’m, I am making kind of broad generalizations and strokes to try to really, uh, paint a picture for you all.

If you wanna dive deeply into the I 94, definitely schedule a follow-up call with me and I’m happy to thought partner with you if you have certain really tricky situations with your students. Um, but just again, wanna make you aware of these things so you can bring back, uh, to your teams. If a student has, um, undocumented parents, uh, [01:01:00] just wanna briefly say, um, the parents or the parent, um, can still fill out an FSA ID this year.

And the FAFSA process has made it so that it’s still knowledge based questions. Um, some students, for example, if they come as unaccompanied minors, maybe they’ve done a border crossing and they’re living with, you know, relatives. I definitely wanna, um, call out the provisional independent student status they might be eligible for in the fafsa.

So again, the more you fact find, the more you understand what their situation is, the more you can point them to, um, different parts of the process. Um, not saying that every single student would be eligible for, for provisional independent student status on the fafsa, but it might be that a few of you might have students in this situation that could be independent for financial aid, um, purposes if they are, um, mixed status.

Um, so definitely something to think about. Um, [01:02:00] so definitely, yeah. So this is just, uh, kind of a follow up to, um, the provisional independent student status piece. Um, also, uh, questions around being homeless or self-supporting. Um, it’s just important to note that sometimes undocumented students, um, or sorry, I should say students, uh, in mixed status families, uh, who are eligible to fill out a fafsa, but they’re un their family might be undocumented, um, could potentially, uh, answer yes to some of these questions depending on who they’re living with.

Um, definitely mixed status families are becoming, uh, more and more, um, common as, um, as families start to self-disclose. They might say, okay, my student can fill out a fafsa. They have a green card, but we’re undocumented. Um. Has some great, um, resources online that we’ve created around who needs an FSA id.

So you can kind [01:03:00] of go through the flow chart if some of your students are feeling anxious around, well, one of my parents is undocumented. Do they need to provide their information? It might, it might work out that, you know, maybe they don’t need to, um, provide their information that they can just, um, provide another parent’s information.

So it just depends on what the family situation is. So I find that a graphic like this, who needs an FCID can help students kind of quell some of that anxiety that they might feel if they’re in a mixed status family. Um, this is the resource that I talked about earlier that is really just my go-to resource when I’m talking to practitioners and families about data protections for FAFSA information.

So, um, this is through the, um, presence Alliance for Higher Education. Um, and basically what you need to know and what this resource does a really great job of highlighting is that there are these things called sos, S-O-R-N-S, and they’re [01:04:00] basically, um, data sharing agreements that happen between agencies.

And so this particular nonprofit, um, the Presidents Alliance for Higher Ed tracks, those sos to see, okay, what agencies are sharing information with what other agencies. Um, and they’re tr they’re trying to, uh, monitor these to see if Department of Education opens up any new SOS with any other agencies.

And so that’s kind of the nitty gritty of what I think we wanna keep our, uh, eyes and ears peeled out for is, um, are these agreements actually in place where people just threatening that they’re gonna share FS information? Those are two different things. And so, um. Currently, there is no data sharing agreement between Department of Education and ICE, or Department of Homeland Security.

That’s not to say it won’t happen in the future, but I just wanted to kind of, um, allow [01:05:00] you to have this information, bookmark it, and you know, just stay abreast of what’s happening. You can share all that with families, um, and, you know, and still say, you know, it’s still up to you to fill out a FAFSA or not, but, um, this is what we know now.

Um, I have heard from other practitioners, um, that if students are really anxious, but they’re filling out a fafsa, if a family has a PO box, um, they can include that PO box information in for their address in the FAFSA instead of their home address. Um, just as a additional, uh, whew. Layer of, okay, at least we’re not putting down our address in the fafsa.

Um, so that’s something I’ve heard. Um, just sharing that as a, a practice. Um, and, and thinking about that information as separate from information being shared with colleges, right? Because the FAFSA and then [01:06:00] the college’s own storage system is, is different. Um. And then someone had a question around the CSS profile.

Um, the special circumstances section is still a good place to self disclose, and I would add a caveat, especially the colleges in Massachusetts. Um, only because, again, state, local, um, colleges in the area here tend to be more aware of these data protections. And, and many of them I’ve spoken to have protections in place in their own offices to safeguard sensitive information.

So I, I do think the special circumstances section is still an okay place to self-disclose. I would not write an essay with every single intricate detail of a student status, but certainly an, uh, a line that says, um, my family or I, um, am currently not eligible to fill out a fafsa. Um, so really, really hoping to get, you [01:07:00] know, um, I don’t know, and then keep writing something.

So wording it like that. Um, not going into every tiny gran granular detail, but still self-disclosing on the CSS profile I think is, is smart because the more the colleges know, again, the more help that they might be able to provide the family. Um, and then definitely again, highlight local resources. Uh, students are eligible, uh, to fill out a mafa automatically have access to all of these things.

Um, so it’s just really, really important, um, that students fill out a financial aid form. By May 1st every year. And so this slide says fafsa, but I wanna make the point that it’s fafsa or fafsa, um, in order to get all of these tuition benefits from Massachusetts, especially the free college, uh, free community college.

But I do wanna call out a high school completer status, so in order to be fully [01:08:00] eligible for mafa and other in-state aid here in Massachusetts. There is one caveat. The student needs to be a high school completer, which means they have to have had at least three years of, um, high school in Massachusetts to be eligible.

Now if a student’s just under that, so if they’re two years or two and a half years, I can’t say if they will or will not get it, but it’s worth reaching out to osfa, the Office of Student Financial Assistance here in Massachusetts, the office that does the SFA to see if, um, they might have extra funding to give to your student if they could, if the student could still apply and see if they qualify.

So that’s if the student, if you don’t think the student meets the full three years of the high school completer. Um, and then definitely encourage all your students, um, if they are for sure high school completers. So I have those at least three years of, um, high school or earned a high school [01:09:00] diploma to fill out the mafa online.

It is very easy to fill out. Um, and all they would do is complete the mass file once for all colleges, fill out and sign the affidavit form, um, the high school version, and then make sure that they provide the required documents to their college in order to get the high school completer status validated.

So a high school transcript or high school diploma would serve that purpose. Um, they would, they should only do these steps, um, for the particular public colleges they’re applying for after they fill out the mass file. And then just don’t forget, uh, to also fill out the affidavit. Um, that’s a printable PDF format only, which is, uh, the, probably the safest way to be filling out this form.

And I have it on good authority that all of the public colleges in Massachusetts or many of them are taking this very, very, uh, seriously and having very sort of [01:10:00] strict storage, uh, data storage, um, protocols in place for this information. Again, I’m just a messenger. This is what I’ve heard. But, um, given that it’s state run, I would trust it more for sure at the moment than a federal, um, federal anything.

Um. So with that, uh, just wanna share that we do have some free resources here, um, that you’ll, um, you know, have access to scan these QR codes. If, when you get the slides, our FAFSA festival, um, definitely connect with nefa, sign up for emails. Um, so for those of you still here, um, I’m gonna just run through the q and a and then wrap up.

Um, we have a few questions here for a student who was born in the US but parents are undocumented. Does the student file the FAFSA or the masa? So remember that the student eligibility for the FAFSA or the masa, [01:11:00] um, lies only on the student status. So if the student is eligible for fafsa, regardless of parent status, they should be filing a fafsa.

Um, it’s one or the other. And if they are eligible for fafsa, they must do the fafsa. They can’t do the masa. So I hope that answers that. Is there financial support for students who want to attend trade schools? Trade schools is definitely a trickier piece when it comes to being fully undocumented. And if the particular school does not participate in any of the state aid programs, um, I would definitely then think through some private funding, private scholarships, either through your school or community organizations.

Um, I would also encourage students to, um, see if any of the public colleges offer, um, some of what they’re looking for, um, specifically in certain trades. Um, you know, uh, [01:12:00] Franklin Cummings comes to mind. They have a lot of the construction degrees, um, ophthalmology. They have, you know, some of the two year programs have um, uh, cos cosmetology and so I would definitely see there any similar programs.

Available in the public colleges and, and so hopefully, therefore, your student can fill out a mass fund and qualify for state aid. So definitely a trick. Your piece though, um, for, for trade schools, um, the recording will be shared. Um, so definitely you’ll get, you’ll get the full recording and the slides.

Um. So someone’s saying, so are you saying that FAFSA info will not be shared with Department of Homeland Security? I’m not saying that. Uh, what I’m saying is that currently it’s not, and that’s why we’re tracking the S-O-R-N-S, the so agreements, uh, to see if that ever changes. So, as [01:13:00] a right now, department of Education is not sharing FAFSA information with.

Department of Homeland Security that has not been an agreement that, you know, has gone through, um, that we can track and see. That’s not to say that it won’t happen, uh, in the future. And so we have to be aware of that. We have to be upfront with families about that. Um, but then there’s also, you know, their, their own decisions of whether they’re gonna fill out a FAFSA or not.

Also understand that, um, information’s probably already being shared, um, in, in, in different ways, which stinks. Um, so if undocumented parents filled out, um, have an I 10 for tax purposes, that information’s already out there, unfortunately. Um, and so it’s possible that information’s already out there. Um, not to say that that makes it better, but to.

To sort of quell some of that deep fear that might exist of saying, I’m not even gonna apply to college because I don’t [01:14:00] wanna fill out the fafsa. Well, if your parent already has an itin, the information’s already out there. You might as well file your FAFSA and chase your dreams. Um, so again, this is, there’s so much gray area here.

Um, and so I wanna be clear about that. Um, but I hope that that answers your question. So not currently sharing with departmental of home one security. Um, is it three academic years or three calendar years for, um, for high school complete or status? Um, it’s three, honestly. Uh, uh, at whoever the counselor that asked this, this is a great question.

It says three years in the, um, official guidance. Um, so I would interpret that ever. They will accept it. And I’ll leave it at that. Um, so if a student, um, has three years on their transcript, but maybe only, you know, was [01:15:00] only in the high school for nine months, I don’t know. I, I would, I would try and I would definitely, um, apply and if Osfa accepts it, that’s great.

Remember, OSA is in the business of giving people money, right? They want to help students. So, um, when in doubt apply, um, and, and hopefully they have enough money to go around. Um, right now Massachusetts in is in a really good place, and I hope that continues. Um, so definitely whether it’s three academic or three calendar years, I would go for it.

Um, for a student who was born in the us but parents are in, oh, I already answered that one. Sorry about that. What are your suggestions for securely disclosing a student’s status in the CSS profile for colleges is the additional, yep. I answered this one. Um. I would still put it in the special circumstances section to assure, to ensure that it does actually get into the file.

I’m afraid that if you call, um, that the [01:16:00] person on the other line won’t be appropriately taking notes and appropriately adding that information to the student’s financial aid file. So I would still definitely use the CSS profile, a special circumstances section. Um, but just do it, you know, kind of in the way that I described earlier.

You know, don’t have to hash out every detail, just kind of leave it a little bit vague, but, but clear that, that the student is in that situation. And then if the college has additional information, you can always follow up with a phone call to expand on that. Um, that’s completely okay as well. Great. Well, thank you everyone so much for joining.

Um, I know for those of you that are still on, I appreciate you hanging on. We did go way over, but, um, appreciated all your questions. Um, so thank you again and, uh, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Um, I do have my contact information here at the end of the slides, uh, a [email protected]. Um, so please be in touch and [01:17:00] thank you and you’re all doing good work, so I appreciate everything that you’re doing to bring this information, uh, to your families.

Thank you.