The College Planning Process for Undocumented Students

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

Julie Shields-Rutyna: [00:00:00] Welcome and good evening. My name is Julie Shields Rutina, and I'm the Director of College Planning, Education, and Training at MIFA, and thank you so much for joining us this evening for this webinar, which is the College Application Process for Undocumented Students and Immigrant Families in Massachusetts.

And tonight, we're so fortunate to have our presenter, Andrea Keenan. And Andrea does a lot of presentations for us. And in fact, I'll just make a note that, um, Andrea has done a lot of presentations for us in Spanish. So if you look on our website and you want to hear about topics like college admissions, financial aid, you can usually find those in Spanish as well.

But tonight, um, we're, this presentation will be in English. And if you have questions. [00:01:00] Pop them right into the Q& A feature on your screen, and then we'll make sure to answer those. And if you need to leave, um, know that we're recording this, and that tomorrow we will send out the recording and the slides, and um, you can have those, you can share them, all of that.

And if you need closed captioning, you can press that button on the bottom of your screen, and And it's a CC button, and that will show you the words that, um, that we're speaking across your screen. And with that, Andrea, I'm going to turn it right over to you, because you have a lot of content and a lot of wonderful things to talk about, so.

Andrea Keenan: Wonderful. Thank you so much, Julie, um, for that great introduction. Um, hi, everyone. I'm so pleased to be here. Um, like Julie said, my name is Andrea, and I will be with you for about an hour. Um, there's a lot of content. Um, so in advance, I should warn you, I will be talking kind of quickly, but please [00:02:00] feel free to drop questions in the chat and I will pause a few times throughout, um, to check for questions and hopefully answer them as they come up for you.

Um, so let's get started. Um, I have four parts in this presentation. The first is an introduction. The second we'll go into, um, immigration statuses, what that all means for federal aid, financial aid. Uh, the third, um, part will go through the college application process and some tips for students applying.

Um, and then part four, we'll talk a little bit about private scholarships. I want to name before I, um, introduce myself a little bit more that this webinar is really aimed at the student point of view. So if you are a counselor, Obviously, please enjoy and share this resource with your students and families as much as you can.

If you are looking for a counselor based presentation, MIFA also has those under MIFA Institute. [00:03:00] So I really will be talking to students and families in this presentation, and so just so you get to know me a little bit before I dive in, just know that I am I am a huge ally and advocate in this space, partly because I am also an immigrant and have been through a lot of immigration hurdles and ups and downs in that very long journey that has lasted many, many years.

I'm also a first generation college student. And what really want to be a resource for you. This is my 12th year in the field. Most recently, I've been at Excel Academy Charter High School. for having me. Um, as a college and career counselor, sort of, um, heading up our work there. Um, so it's, it's really a passion of mine professionally and personally, but I never want to eclipse other voices.

So I am not currently undocumented and never want to position myself as the end all be all for this conversation, but really just an ally, um, an advocate and [00:04:00] someone in this space that really wants to make sure that students and counselors have the information they need so that all undocumented students and students with immigration concerns.

can really just go forth in whatever post secondary pathway they want to be a part of, and that's, I've seen that with my own students at Excel Academy, and it really does take a village, but the more that we can inform and empower our young people, I think the better for everyone. So please be in touch.

I would love to be a resource for you in any way that I can be. My email is on this slide as well. All right. I always want to start off presentations that I know are going to reach student and family ears by just really saying something that touches me personally as well. And that is that you are not defined by your immigration status so it surely is something that is an important part of our lives, especially if we don't have a status, or statuses, it affects so [00:05:00] much of our day to day.

And that is a true statement, but. Always want to empower students, um, and my own students to, to say, and be very clear with them as someone who has also lived through this, that we are so much more than our statuses. Um, it, it is often an invisible identity that we carry with ourselves, that can, sorry, within ourselves, that can feel very heavy.

Um, and so knowing that we're not alone, but that we are also so much more than our immigration status. And so that you are a collection of all these wonderful things like your goals, what you like, what you dislike, your strengths, your passions, your stories, your voice, so much more. And I think the more that we know that about ourselves, the more that we can start to visualize our futures and what we want for, for our lives after high school.

And so, as a counselor, I often tell my students and families that, Whether you have no status or a complex immigration [00:06:00] status or weaving in and out of statuses, um, you can still go or apply to college, you can still apply to two year college, you could still do whatever it is that you want to do after high school, but it just changes things a little bit and that we need to get a little bit more creative in the ways that we need.

We think about how to achieve your goals. So sometimes it might not seem like such a straight path as we might imagine, especially as we kind of compare ourselves to others. Say we're in high school and we're saying, well, my friends are not undocumented. Their path seems so straight. Seems to be a little bit more straight, a little bit more indirect and mine is all a little bit, you know, zigzaggy, not very clear at the moment.

It's easy to compare ourselves to others, especially if we're undocumented and they're not. Um, and just know that really everyone has to follow their own path. And maybe being undocumented might mean that, that, Your path looks a teeny tiny bit different. Maybe you apply to certain [00:07:00] more strategic places.

Maybe you are a little bit more creative in the ways that you seek out your funding. But ultimately, I want to be so clear that, um, that you can make it to your destination and, and there are so many roads for that one destination, which only you know what, what that is right for yourself. So there is no right pathway to reach your goals.

But the most important thing, especially if you're undocumented, um, is that You really need to kind of sit with who can I trust around me? Who do I have in my corner at school, in my family, in my group of friends, um, in the spaces that I go after school, my job, uh, volunteering, who are the people that I trust and who can I ask for help?

And I think a really cool thing nowadays is that we have all these resources online. So something like. As simple as sharing this presentation with people that you know might benefit from this information, but also even [00:08:00] watching this presentation and then bringing it back to your high school, perhaps and saying, Hey, I heard about this counselor.

Can you tell me what this means for me? Or what are some of my options? So using Um, um, the information that you get to kind of advance your own journey and your own work with the people that you trust. But definitely don't be afraid to get creative. Learn about resources. You are not alone. And that is a really important thing as we go through the next, um, about 50 minutes, uh, together here.

So let's start by setting a really good foundation and thinking about the landscape. National and local. I'm going to start off with a very sort of baseline question that to me after being in this field might seem kind of obvious, but it's really not. Can undocumented students apply to college? There's so much misinformation out there.

And the short answer is yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes. 100 [00:09:00] percent yes. If you know people, cousins, friends, neighbors that are doubting this, please show them this. Tell them there is no federal law that prohibits the admission of undocumented immigrants to U. S. colleges. So federal or state laws, for the most part, do not require students to prove their citizenship in order to enter private institutions of higher education.

However, This is the the caveat and sometimes I think people hear this, however, and they then they assume that that's the the whole statement. So there's no federal law. Federal and state laws do not require students to prove their citizenship in or to enter private institutions. But there are some exceptions when it comes to the state public institutions.

There are a few states in the United States that do have a little bit more of a barrier of entry to their public campuses. And so I'm going to show you a map in a little [00:10:00] bit and you'll see which states I'm talking about. Um, We are in I am in Massachusetts. This presentation is for everyone, but that we do put a spotlight on our state of Massachusetts.

And so if you are a resident Massachusetts know that this is not the case in Massachusetts. So for public campuses, it is a completely open policy. And there's no federal law or state law in Massachusetts. That will in any, any way prevent you from going to college. So that is really good news. The difficult part, though, often becomes the question of how to pay for it.

The money piece, of course. So whenever we're thinking about college, either two year or four year, We really need to think about the admissions piece. How am I going to get in? What do I need to provide? What's a really good option for me? But especially if we're undocumented or have different types of immigration statuses, we also really need to closely think [00:11:00] about Well, what are the good fits for me financially as well.

What are some colleges that might give me a little bit more money, or that I know are a little bit more undocu friendly, and we'll talk about all of this a little bit later. And but she just wanted to plant that seed that money becomes a really important part of the equation for all students but especially for students that are undocumented.

If you, or if you have that got TPS or any other type of status. Um, and we'll talk about why in a little bit before we get to talking about financial aid and which statuses do or do not qualify and the money piece, which is obviously so, so important. We need to really take a step back. And if you're a student or a parent listening to this presentation, knowledge is power.

And I know sometimes it's hard to talk about, um, this. I know for my own family, you know, it was, it was kind of a tough subject, you know, to talk about, we [00:12:00] have to go see a lawyer, this is our status, this is what we're applying for. And it wasn't until I was a little bit older that I was able to understand.

But once I reached high school, I really, Started thinking. Well, I need to know what my status is. I need to know what's going on so that I can then really direct my process. And so it took me asking my family kind of a direct question of just share stuff with me. Please just tell me what status I have.

Tell me the documents I have. Um, I think it's, it's always a little bit hard, especially different families treat these conversations differently. But as a student is getting to be 16, 17, 18 years old, especially at 18. It's really important for you as a student to know what your status is. And here in the United States, there are so many statuses out there.

It is a really complex, kind of, in some ways, unfair immigration system. There aren't very many pathways to citizenship. But it's really, at least, important to know. We are starting point. [00:13:00] What status do you currently have? And that way you will be able to know it or ask about what then you qualify for in terms of financial aid money to pay for two or four year college.

And so in the United States, we have statuses. Of course, citizen. We know, um, many of us know what that means. You can be a naturalized citizen. Um, meaning that you can become a citizen later on. And so a lot of times when we immigrate to the United States, we're looking for those statuses that lead to a pathway or are a pathway to citizenship eventually to become a naturalized citizen.

We also have different forms that tell us whether we have asylum granted, asylum pending, refugee status, the paper identity for computer generated. I 94 is not a status, but I include it in here because it's a critical part of knowing what documents you have [00:14:00] to prove the status that you have. And so a lot of families, when they come in to immigrate to the United States, they might be given an I 94, which is an arrival or departure record with a stamp and their USCIS number, and um, it might tell them their status.

What, um, what they what status they came into the country with. And so sometimes families keep these paper forms if they came, you know, several, several years ago. More recently, um, USCIS and Department of Homeland Security have been working with computer generated I 94s where you have to log in and access your I 94 that way.

Um, we have temporary protective, protected status. Um, which is given out to only a few countries and renewed every few years. I know at my high school, we have a lot of students with temporary temporary protected status from, um, I was talking to a student the other day from Honduras, um, Haiti. So there there's several [00:15:00] countries on that TPS list.

So definitely if you have TPS, you should know when that TPS is set to expire and what your family and you can do to get ahead of that and renew TPS or, or another type of status. Um, TPS is a pretty, um, sort of solid status in that It gets renewed every few years for each country. So each country, um, if the situation in the country hasn't changed, it will most likely be renewed.

But we've heard a lot of talk in the news, um, in the last, I don't know, four or five, six years about TPS going away for certain countries. So it's not a forever status. It's temporary as, as the name suggests. So it's always important to inform yourself about, um, your status. And the different, um, sets of time that that that your TPS is is granted for we've of course got permanent resident, which is the green [00:16:00] card holder, as it's known, colloquially conditional permanent residents, um, many families that I've worked with, I've been granted humanitarian Pearl.

There's also this new process for Cuban patients, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans that we just heard about TV is. You visas, JNF visas for students, other temporary visas. We've got family sponsored visas. We've got VAWA self petitioners, which is the Violence Against Women Act, self petitioners that could lead to complex immigration process that might lead to a green card or permanent resident card.

So that's a good one to know about. Special immigrant juvenile status. That which is not technically a status. It's an exemption from deportation, but it's something that a lot of our older students have and and finally undocumented, which is a lack of status. So this is a lot. Um, and. My advice for you all watching [00:17:00] this from the student and family perspective is to just have open, honest conversations with each other about, um, how you came into the country, what that process was like, whether you're currently in a legal process.

I think the more that we can have these open conversations, especially for our students, the more that they'll feel empowered to know what they will qualify. for or not. And as always, you know, counselors myself, even though I've been in this field for a little while, we're not immigration attorneys. And so if you have any legal questions, I always advise students and families to seek out trusted legal aid, and I'll provide some resources for that later on.

It's always really important to go to legal resources, immigration attorneys that are trustworthy and have good reputations that are maybe recommended by local agencies so that you know that if you are going to pay money that you're not going to [00:18:00] be paying for for someone that's not actually going to help you the way that you need to be helped.

There are a lot of scams out there we need to protect ourselves and our money against them. So, as much as it's important for you to know your status. Um, and to really be informed and feel that agency and that power, no one, no one ever should ask you what your immigration status is. And I especially tell that to any students watching the webinar, especially at your high school.

There is a federal law that came from a Supreme Court decision in 1982 called Plyler v. Doe that protects, um, students in K 12 education, so basically guarantees every single student, regardless of status. Um, uh, a free education. So nobody should be asking you what your status is and therefore giving you or not giving you education in K through 12.

[00:19:00] So you should never get asked that. But there are certain times when it might benefit you to disclose your status to someone. So it's not them asking you. That should never, that should never happen. And if it does, you should report it, but it can happen the other way. You as a student or a family member can disclose your status to someone.

And I realized it's scary, but if you know how to do it safely, you'll stay safe. And get the help and the resources that you need, like application help, scholarships, legal resources. And so even though it might feel scary at first, if you do choose to take that step of self disclosing, you can actually be, um, doing something really, really good for your, um, for your goals and for your plans.

It's always, like I said, important to have good people in your corner. And if there are people you can trust, I think that answers that question there. Who can you disclose your status to? Why should you disclose your [00:20:00] status? So, um, you can safely disclose your status. This is how you can do it. The first is that you can disclose your status to colleges.

It is, in fact, safe, and this is a big misconception. A lot of students and families and parents don't realize this. They are a little scared to apply and to say that they're undocumented, but actually being honest about your immigration status to a college is Can be really good because they might have additional resources for undocumented students that they can give you that they wouldn't have known to give you if you hadn't self disclosed.

You should know colleges are 100 percent prohibited from releasing your information. to any outside agency unless there is a court order with your exact name on it. So unless that happens and let's say there's a legal proceeding, um, maybe something just more high level, but in my 12 years as a counselor, [00:21:00] No college has ever shared any other student information about an undocumented student, um, unprovoked.

And so, you should know that this is protected under federal law. Um, the law is called FERPA, and colleges take that very, very seriously. And so, colleges should not, um, be asking you about your immigration status either. So, again, it always goes, um, It doesn't go both ways. It always has to be initiated by you.

Once it's initiated by you, then they can ask you follow up questions. Same with a school counselor. Say you're at high school and you really trust your high school counselor. They're just really cool people, and you're just like, yes, I know they'll help me. The more you tell them, the better, so they can help you better.

So your counselor, Can be a really good person to self disclose to if you feel comfortable doing that. Don't think you have to go at this alone. Um, right now in Massachusetts, more and more counselors are being trained on how to help undocumented students. So for [00:22:00] some counselors, it might be new, but for many, it won't be.

Um, and. Really encourage them if they don't know to know that they can partner with you to at least, you know, be on your team and and helping you ask those questions that need to be asked when it comes to applying to different colleges or pursuing different options. And of course, the third entity you can self disclose to is a trusted immigration attorney and keyword being trusted.

And again, I'll give you some resources for how to do that on this slide. Um, so if you're in high school and you are thinking, all right, I'm, you know, this is a lot for me to carry, but I'm, I'm ready to, um, self-disclose to a few key people. Um, please go ahead and do that. Um, and you can also join other students, um, Massachusetts and, uh, many states have local, um, student advocacy organizations.

Um, in our, in this state of Massachusetts, we have the student immigrant movement. Um, or they've recently [00:23:00] changed their names to stories inspiring movements. I'm sorry. Um, and really draw strength from others. And one day, maybe you'll be ready to tell your story in a way that feels right for you and in different ways.

And so it's always nice to join with others going through the same thing. Again, you're not alone. Um, There might be other resources at your school like an immigrant student club, a chapter of stories, inspiring movements, um, help each other spread the word. And finally, these are two good legal resources.

If you want to look at Uh, potentially working with a lawyer. Say you haven't been working with a lawyer or you have, but you're wanting to transition to another lawyer. The Massachusetts Immigrant Refugee Advocacy Coalition, MIRA, has a really good legal directory, um, of lawyers throughout the state. So not just the Boston area, but throughout the whole state of Massachusetts.

And if you're closer to Boston, the city of Boston [00:24:00] offers free legal consultations every two weeks. Um, and you can call the number in that link to set up, um, A completely confidential 15 to 20 minute conversation with a, um, volunteer attorney. So as always, I always encourage people to go seek legal help.

Through sort of these trusted resources. Um, sometimes it's it might be, um, it might feel better to go someone, you know, in your community, just make sure that they are authorized to practice law in the city of Massachusetts. Alright, so that that was a lot. And I just want to take a moment to see if there are any questions popping up in the chat.

None yet. Okay, so we'll keep going. Um, and then for if you are fully undocumented and feeling even just watching this presentation, a little bit of fear or just sort of saying like, I believe Andrea, like she's telling [00:25:00] me all these things, but you know, don't just hear it from me. There are so many resources online that really advocate for immigrants undocumented or not to know their rights and you do have rights.

So check out these resources here from I. else RC or the ACLU, they have a lot of really great resources so that you can read up on your rights, especially if you're someone that feels a little bit more nervous to share your status, or if maybe you live in a community that, you know, has a lot of immigrants and you've heard stories.

Don't try not to be afraid. Try to just empower yourself with information. So here's a little bit more on that. Um, if you, when, when you have time, I'd love for you to take a look. Okay. So we're doing pretty, pretty good on time. Let's start actually talking about financial aid and applying to college. This is going to be our longest section of the presentation.

So let's, let's get going. This is my favorite part. [00:26:00] So let's start by defining what financial aid is. A lot of families that I talk to hear financial aid, or maybe, and they might hear the term in Portuguese or Spanish, ayuda financiera, and they might think, oh, well, that's, that's just the federal stuff.

And if a student's undocumented, they might say, well, we don't qualify for, for any financial aid. And that could not be further from the truth. So when we say financial aid, we really mean that umbrella term of just any money that students can use. To pay for college and there are different types of money.

So there's free money and then there's loans, federal student loans and federal work study. So really for undocumented students who are fully undocumented. There are still so many types of free money that you can still get, apply for, and use to make your college dream come true. And so, I [00:27:00] don't, I want you to walk away from this presentation knowing, okay, if I'm fully undocumented, I don't have access to the federal stuff.

But I have access to the state stuff and the college stuff. Of course, when I say stuff, I'm trying to be funny. But I mean, the financial aid, right, the grants, the scholarships, and also private scholarship. So when it comes to free money, you can see here, there are federal grants known as the Pell Grant.

So if your immigration status does not allow you to apply for the FAFSA, you do miss that aid, that part, right? Um, but You can still get college grants and scholarships and state grants and state aid and private scholarships. And so, if every little bit helps right and you start to put all these pieces into a bucket eventually the bucket can get pretty full.

So keep that in mind that when you hear financial aid, it actually just means all these different types. And [00:28:00] actually here in Massachusetts, we have some pretty exciting developments when it comes to state grants and state aid that we're going to go through in a few minutes. So stay hopeful friends, but remember, let's get creative, right?

For many of these Financial aid types. So college grants, scholarships, state grants, state aid, private scholarships. Students must apply to get these like even the college grants and scholarships. You need to apply to college. You need to send them information. And then you will hear back whether you you get these things or not.

So a lot of students sometimes think, well, I'll just by kind of applying and getting in, then then I'll be able to get money. And actually, a lot of these types of financial aid do require additional steps. And so it's important again to know about these steps, either from this webinar, but also for talking with your counselors and your people in your community at home and in your high school.

So [00:29:00] let's go back to this slide. So I showed you this slide about with so many different types of statuses and terms in the U. S. immigration system. So from all of these, the ones that are highlighted in yellow are indeed eligible to apply for federal financial aid. So not only the other stuff, but also this additional federal aid layer.

So that's kind of cool. I've actually had students who don't think they're fully undocumented go home, have that open, difficult, honest conversation with their families, and come to find out their asylum status just got approved a few months ago. Wow, now they're eligible for federal aid. So again, that's a very rosy picture.

It does happen. But that again, underscores my point of the more you know about your own status, the more you'll you'll know where you [00:30:00] kind of fit in to this larger scheme of things. And so if you know you have one of these yellow statuses, you can apply for federal aid. As soon as right now. Um, if you're a senior, if you're a junior, um, you would have to wait until your senior year to start applying for, for federally.

So that's, that's kind of interesting there. We don't have any questions in the chat, but please feel free to pop them in as we're going through another thing that we need to know and what can clue us into what statuses we have, or maybe you're helping out a friend with this is what kind of card they have.

So, um, If they're fully undocumented, of course, they won't have any sort of cards given or paperwork given out by the, by the government, by USCIS. But if they have some of these other statuses like refugee or temporary protected status, they might have, people might have One of the one of these two [00:31:00] cards.

So the difference is the one on the left is called the permanent resident card. So if you have the one on the left, you are eligible for federal aid, which means you have one of these yellow states. I do want to add a little caveat that the VAWA self petitioner, while that is not a status in and of itself, getting that petition granted can lead to a pathway to citizenship via a permanent resident card.

So it's same with the special immigrant juvenile status. So people can be. applying for those and therefore receiving the permanent resident card, which is highlighted in yellow. So I just wanted to kind of add that as well. So if you have the card on the left here, which is known as the green card, you are eligible for federal financial aid.

If you have the card on the right, you are not eligible for federal aid, but let's not despair. You are eligible potentially for in state [00:32:00] aid. At public college campuses in Massachusetts, and we're going to talk about that, which is very exciting. And you can also apply for the college financial aid college grants, college scholarships.

And so it is important to note that these cards look very similar, but there you could see their hues are a little different. The permanent resident card is a little bit more green and blue employment authorization has read on it. So if you've never if you know you have a card, but you've never seen it.

This is kind of your invitation to again, have that open, honest, hard conversation with your family and say, Hey, I know I have some sort of card. Can you show me what that is? And, and, and then that is also another way that you can start to work out the different puzzle pieces of your process. So that leads me quite beautifully to some exciting updates here in Massachusetts.

So, um, this is a map of 2022, the situation. situation as of 2022, which I know is a while ago, but I [00:33:00] put it here to show you the difference. So back in November 2022, you can see that the state of Massachusetts was still, uh, oh, sorry about that, was still, um, not a color. It's blank. It wasn't green, wasn't any shade of green, and then it wasn't obviously red or pink.

It just was not a tuition equity state. What does that mean? Until recently, undocumented students in Massachusetts did not have access to state aid for public colleges. So, you could still apply. You could get in. But if you're fully undocumented, You'd have to pay the out of state price, which is sometimes double or triple what the state residents pay, which felt really unfair.

And a lot of people did a lot of advocacy for many years to change that. And you can see there are other states way ahead of us here. [00:34:00] So the green states, the dark green states are states that do have tuition equity laws and can offer state aid even to undocumented individuals. So for many years, people in Massachusetts were like, why can't we be like one of those dark green states?

And of course, you can always, you can see that there are some red and pink states. These are the states I was referring to earlier. Those are, those are states that do limit do limit access to the public campuses. Again, that doesn't mean, um, that doesn't touch the private sphere. So the private sector is very different and across the U.

S. there's no rule that bars undocumented students from accessing private institutions. But at these three states, it, there are state laws in place for their public institutions. So thankfully, Massachusetts is not one of them. So after a lot of advocacy, We can finally share that as of [00:35:00] August 2023, we are now one of those dark green states, um, which is very exciting.

So please share the news, um, in your communities. So Massachusetts has expanded eligibility for in state tuition to students who have attended Massachusetts high schools for at least three years. So this expansion will ensure that a lot of non citizens, so a lot of undocumented students, are able to access that state money and the in state tuition rates at these public campuses in Massachusetts.

So before this happened in August 2023, while we weren't a dark green state yet, we did, we were inching closer in that prior to August 2023, Um, DACA recipients and TPS recipients were given access to in state tuition. So that was kind of like a little primer for [00:36:00] us, but it wasn't, um, it wasn't what we have now.

So now it's not just DACA or TPS, but it's all undocumented students can have access to those lower prices at public colleges, and in addition, can also receive. additional financial aid from the state. So this is, this is game changing for so many people. Um, and so now that our work is to disseminate this information, to make sure that undocumented students know what they have to do, know what they have to fill out, by when, so they actually can get access to these great benefits.

So it's all really good news. We're really excited. And I will say it is a little bit of a process. There are some forms to be filled out. There are some things to know. And so that's the piece that we want to make sure we empower our students and our families to know what the [00:37:00] steps are in order to have access to these great benefits.

And so that's a little bit of what we're going to go into in the next few slides. So this is a big deal. It's made national news. It's historic for our state. And this is the official communication that went out. And you can find out more information on mass. edu, uh, forward slash tuition equity. So as you can see here, they did backdate it to July 1st, 2023.

Um, and so what this does is it creates, it expands the eligibility. So now it's not just for VACA TPS. Obviously citizens that live in Massachusetts, but it's any any student that resides in Massachusetts. They have to complete certain, um, stipulations. But if you if you complete those, or you say that you've completed those, then you will have access to tuition equity.

And this is just [00:38:00] I just before we go into what you actually need to do and what those requirements are. I just want to kind of. So show you visually what a cool change this is. So prior to July 1st, 2023, all undocumented individuals, all students wanting to access two year or four year colleges, public colleges in Massachusetts, had to pay the out of state tuition.

Unless they had that or TPS. So that means that prior to July 1st, you can see the middle column. That's what students were paying at 2 and 4 year public colleges. So if a class is usually 3 credits, some lab classes are 4 credits in colleges. Let's say on average, 1 class is 3 credits. That means students who are fully undocumented.

We're having to pay 1, 368 per class. Now this, this meant that this was pretty unattainable for many undocumented students, which meant [00:39:00] that for the most part, many of them did not could not attend public two year classes. Or for your colleges, and therefore they would seek alternative alternate options.

Now those alternate options are still there, but now students can can focus more on what they want to study rather than Oh, I'm only limited to these four or five options that are more affordable for me. So again, this is why this is so life changing for many people. They just have more options. Now, um, the same options as anybody else.

So now post July 1st, you can see the in state tuition rates. This is what you, uh, undocumented students will have or have access to now, um, pending a few stipulations, which we're going to go over. And so, You can see the price just dramatically reduced. So one class is now around 750 versus 1, 368. This is great.

[00:40:00] Um, I took just the average. I used, um, a sample college from, that's very close to me here in Boston. Um, you know, these prices might vary just a little bit depending on the college, but this is a very typical, um, tuition scale here in Massachusetts. I do want to note that if the student takes more than a certain number of credits, so depending on the university, it's usually more than nine credits, which means three, more than three or four classes, he or she must show proof of health insurance.

It is a law that, um, more than half time students in Massachusetts that are in college need to also have Health insurance. So if you are someone that has MassHealth or other insurances, you can say you have that and you don't have to pay additional money for your health insurance. If you're fully undocumented and don't have MassHealth and you have say, um, a more basic plan, um, you may not [00:41:00] be able to.

say or find the equivalent of what the law requires up to a certain level of health coverage. So you might have to pay an additional sum of money so that you're covered, um, for health insurance under that sort of college student law in Massachusetts. So that's just another little caveat to ask your counselor about, um, or ask the college about, um, but also ask your family about if you don't know what kind of health insurance you have now is a great time to, to ask if you're a junior or senior.

And then this is the same sort of example, but for a sample for your college public in the Boston area, or sorry, sample for your colleges in the Boston area. So three categories here, a state university, uh, UMass, um, and then a sample private university. So you can see that, um, the in state tuition for public colleges, whether Four year colleges, whether they're state or UMass, are much lower now with in state tuition access [00:42:00] for undocumented students.

The sample private university, you can see there's no change, out of state, in state, it's all the same for all students. So with this new law here in Massachusetts, This new tuition equity law undocumented students have unprecedented and well deserved access to these quality for your public colleges. Um, and that's really, really exciting.

Before this. Students really had to be very choosy about where they applied because a lot of them were just very expensive. Um, and now, obviously, they still cost money, but they have more affordable options now. So that's really, really cool. And really exciting. So the question you've probably been waiting on is how do you access these benefits?

So you do need to meet certain criteria to be considered for this benefit. So what the what the state did [00:43:00] is they created a new status. And if you qualify for this new status. Then you qualify for tuition equity. So the new status that they created is that of high school completer. So if you're completely undocumented, you have to be deemed a high school completer, at least to be able to access the tuition equity benefits.

All right, so In order to qualify and be deemed a high school completer, you must have these four things. The first is been admitted to a public institution of higher education, so either a public two year, public four year college. Um, the second one is is a little legal jargony, not being a non immigrant alien within the meaning of this very long law.

And this just means that, um, you will [00:44:00] need to sign an affidavit saying that if you're Even though you're undocumented, if you ever did have the chance to apply for citizenship that you would do that as soon as you became eligible for it. So this is just a way to say, all right, you might be undocumented now, but you will make a good faith effort.

To apply for citizenship when you can. So that's the affidavit that you'll hear about in a little bit is connected to this number two point. Number three is a little bit more attainable. Uh, it's have attended at least three academic years at high school in Massachusetts. So you need to have attended at least three years of High school in massachusetts again that serves to prove that you are a resident of massachusetts that you've been here long enough to establish yourself as someone that lives in Massachusetts.

This is to help, um, the state sort of prevent people from moving from other states [00:45:00] and say, I've been here for two weeks. I qualify for in state tuition. So this really wants to reserve the funds for students that have really You need to have at least three years of being in Massachusetts and studying here for an extended period of time.

Notice that it says at least three years. High school is four years, so you don't have to have finished high school in Massachusetts, but you do need to have at least three years of attending a Massachusetts high school. And they do require, obviously, for you to, before you apply to the college, you need to have either graduated from a high school or about to graduate if you're a senior in high school.

Or, If you're not finishing high school or didn't finish high school in Massachusetts, you have to have the equivalent of a high school diploma. For example, the GED or HiSET from, um, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. So again, that serves to prove, hey, I've been here, I've been a resident, give me the money, kind of thing.

Um, so again, [00:46:00] Things to think about if you have a friend that just came here a year ago, and only did one year of high school. Unfortunately, they don't qualify. So again, I, even though this is really, really happy news, there will still be some students that don't quite meet these, um, this criteria. And again, we just go back to this To the basics of let's get creative, right?

There are still so many institutions out there, private two years, other, um, institutes they can attend if they're looking for more affordable options. So, again, let me know if you have any questions. Don't see any in the chat. So let's keep going. So the second change is that in addition to getting those in state tuition rates.

Um, at the in state tuition level. There's also an additional component that Massachusetts has committed to [00:47:00] also providing undocumented students additional financial aid. That is so awesome. Um, so it's great because in addition to getting the cheaper prices, you might also be eligible for state grants to help you pay for those lower prices.

So it's, it's a win win. It's really cool, but it follows the same process as change one. You need to be a high school completer as well in order to have access. to this additional state financial assistance. So you have to meet all eligibility requirements as a high school completer. Um, you also have to meet the requirements specific to the state financial programs.

There's different grants the state gives, so you also, you have to meet those as well like any other student. Um, you'll, you have to submit either a FAFSA if you can, Or if you are fully undocumented, don't have a social, cannot fill out a [00:48:00] federal form for financial aid, the state now has their own form called the MASFA that undocumented students can fill out to provide information about their financial situation at home and therefore hopefully be eligible to receive these additional state financial aid grants.

Um, and so, It's really important. Do you see how all of this sort of adds up? You need to kind of know your status. What you have, what you don't have, whether you're a high school completer, but if you are keeping up with this presentation and kind of sort of doing that mental inventory, and you do qualify for these things, please fill out your MASFA as soon as possible if you're a senior.

If you're a junior, you can wait until the late summer, fall to start this process of your senior year to get all this going. But in the meantime, you can start making a list of colleges, visiting colleges, asking questions, [00:49:00] even self disclosing to a trusted adult in your school if you're a junior to set yourself up.

Um, so that you're ready to start applying, uh, your senior year. And so how, um, how do you access this benefit? We've covered this, but this just sort of gives, spells it out a little bit more completely. So the first step is you complete the MASFA. You have to create an account first. Um, this is a state sponsored website.

You're not going to have to pay any money for this. Um, just make sure you're in the official, um, website for that. Um, and the links that I shared in the previous slides will take you to those pages. You also need to fill out and sign the affidavit form. This only needs to be completed once for every state college that you apply for.

You also have to complete copies of all required documents so that they're able to give you that high school completer status. So documents might be like a copy of your high school diploma, your high school transcript, a copy of [00:50:00] your GED results. And so all of these documents do need to be submitted to the institution.

If you already submitted these documents as part of your admissions application, you don't have to resubmit them, but always stay vigilant. Monitor your massive a portal your email to make sure that you're replying to any requests for for information. Creating a mass account is really, really easy. And so you are going to have to.

Validate or validate your student account, your email, your phone, give them obviously a personal email. I wouldn't use a school email. Like if your high school gives you an email, I would still use a personal email. That way you get, you can have access to this even after you graduate high school. It's a pretty easy to use interface I found and Obviously they they do hear say [00:51:00] if you have a social security that our item card, your first last name should match that document.

If you don't have a social security Dakar item card, your first last name should match the name you provided to your colleges. So that's just the little detail. There is you're creating your account to always make sure that your names match either the, um, any or any Sort of IDs that you have, but most importantly the name that you gave the college because they'll match that with your mass account.

They'll send you an email verification from the server to make sure that you verify that that's your email and then finally you'll be able to access your mass file. The dash, the portal and dashboard is pretty simple. I like the um, the interface and you can see what applications you have yet. To fill out.

So when I created when a student of mine created the account, we logged on and you can see, um, and this is actually my account. I [00:52:00] logged on and you can see that. I still need to fill out my mass application for state financial aid. And so you can just click right into it and I'll take you to the form. If you click into documents, you'll also see the status of your application, and I find that this is really, um, helpful.

And they color coded, which is nice. Red means that you still need to do it. Yellow means submitted. Green means, um, that all the requirements have been satisfied. And gray means that it's been incomplete. So once you log on to MASFA and you complete your MASFA, you can keep coming back here to check on the status of your forms.

So you can start, edit. Or complete a form. So I like this interface. I'm really excited to hear feedback from students. This is in its first year, of course. This was just released a few months ago, so it's probably not perfect. Maybe there are some, some glitches, but as always, be patient. Just [00:53:00] Power through and ask for help.

If you get stuck, you also have the option to have this application in Spanish, and this is really useful in case your family are not in case. Most likely, your family will want to be there with you when you're filling this out because they are going to ask information about your family's finances. It's important to loop in your families as well.

And if they speak Spanish, you do have the opportunity to translate it all into Spanish so that they can you. Um, understand if they only speak Spanish, for example, and be able to give you the information that you need to complete it. If you, if they don't have a social security number, they can put in all zeros.

Again, this MASFET was built to be undocu friendly. Um, so I found that, that it definitely is. Great. Another opportunity. So if you're in the Boston, uh, area, um, in addition, so MASFA, of course, covers the whole state of Massachusetts, but if you're closer to Boston, there is another [00:54:00] opportunity that you should know about, which is the tuition free community college plan.

This covers any, um, two year public institution in Massachusetts. It's a City of Boston, unique to City of Boston program. So it pays up to three years of tuition and fees after all other financial aid has been applied for all Boston residents who are 18 to 24 years old. If you're pursuing any degree, um, at a two year college, you do need to be a Boston resident for this.

With a Boston zip code, be between 18 and 24 years old, be enrolled in a credit bearing program, either a short term certificate or to your associates, and you have to complete either the FAFSA or the MASFA, which we just reviewed. And so if you, Do live in Boston, and you're in one of these zip codes, um, don't delay, especially if you're a senior, fill out your MASFA, and then whatever the [00:55:00] MASFA doesn't cover, if you do qualify, the tuition free community college plan will cover the rest.

So that is a really cool added benefit. For City of Boston students. What I will say is this is funding dependent. So year to year they update whether they have enough funding for this program. So the best thing that you can do as a student, especially if you're a senior, is do not delay to fill in your MASFA.

Um, because they might run out of funding the later we get, so it's currently April. I would have this done, your MASFA done if you're a senior, no later than end of May. Um, because the more that you bleed into the summer, you know, this funding might be able to might dwindle because, like I said, it is city of Boston dependent.

So it's independent of the MASFA and it's just to supplement whatever other [00:56:00] money students need after they FAFSA or the MASFA. Questions on this? Great. Um, so what if the student qualifies for federal aid, but the parents are undocumented? There's another question that comes up a lot. So we want to make sure that we address there are some updates here.

Um, and so if a student is Eligible for FAFSA so has one of those, um, statuses that we highlighted in yellow, but their fam, their parents are undocumented. They absolutely can still fill out a FAFSA. So that is not a barrier to whether they can fill out a FAFSA or receive federal funding. As long as the student filling out the application has one of those yellow statuses.

They're good to receive, um, or be eligible to receive the aid. So this is just a reminder of the statuses that are eligible for aid as long as the student has one of [00:57:00] these. They're good to just move forward with, with the FAFSA. And so what happens is there is a new process for undocumented parents, those parents that don't have a social security number, to create A federal FSA ID.

Um, and so what they'll need to do is actually create one of these FSA ID accounts. It's connected to an email and a phone number and they'll be able to use that username and password. the same way their student uses that username and password, their own, to sign electronically, sign the FAFSA. Now you may have heard this is brand new this year as of January 2024.

They're still working out this entire sort of pilot year. The tech has been complicated to get right. And so what I would say is if you as a student are eligible for FAFSA, Please connect with someone at your school or community based organization to get help filling out the FAFSA. There have been a [00:58:00] lot of changes this year, a lot of start stop with some tech glitches, so we don't want to lose any students in the shuffle.

So if you're someone that started a FAFSA but are having tech issues finishing it, especially when it comes to an undocumented parent, creating their FSA ID, please reach out to someone in your life for help, uh, high school counselor, community based organizations, um, maybe you have a college advisor, your, uh, college advisor, bottom line advisor, um, gear up advisor, just anyone.

It's just so important to not lose steam and to not lose motivation to actually get that facet done. For parents, you know, if you're a student and your parents are feeling anxious about sharing their information, that is totally warranted. It is intimidating, but just know that that federal law I talked about earlier, FERPA, still protects Your parents information as well.

So colleges [00:59:00] also will never report your status or your parents status to THS, USCIS or ICE. And again, I cannot repeat this enough. In my 12 years, this has never happened. Um, so tell, tell your families to not be afraid and that That their information is safe. Um, and so as we wrap up the last like 10 minutes of the presentation, I wanted to make sure that in addition to financial aid, which sometimes can get a good little gloomy and complicated that we infuse this presentation with just a lot of excitement and hope, because in the end.

You are still planning your future and you deserve to be as excited as anyone when you think about your options for the future. And so, How do you go about thinking about. Where do I apply? What do I do? How can I take advantage of my high school years? And so, um, before we get into the application process, um, just wanted to mention [01:00:00] this, you know, while you're in high school, say you're a sophomore watching this or even a junior, knowing or asking about any of these programs at your high school can go a long way Toward potentially giving you some college credit and therefore potentially saving you some money.

If you do decide to pursue a two year or four year college. I know a lot of Massachusetts high schools have dual enrollment partnerships with local colleges where their students can take college level college classes and if they pass. They're awarded that college credit. You can take those college credits with you, um, to any college that you continue on to, or especially if you continue at that same college you did a dual enrollment for, you can, you know, save, save on those three or six credits that you earned.

And those are credits you won't have to pay for when you are in college. CLEP is another, um, option. I know a lot of students use CLEP. This is an exam through the college board, and I know a lot of [01:01:00] two year students use this to satisfy some of their elective credits. So look into that, especially if you're, say, a senior and you're going into the summer.

Maybe there is a CLEP exam you can take to get some credits out of the way for your program once you start in the fall. And then, of course, AP Um, AP classes are always great if you're a student that has been really into a certain subject or really academically curious and want to challenge yourself.

If you're a junior, you know, advocate to take AP classes your senior year. If you pass the test with at least a, you know, sometimes a three, but definitely a four and a five, you can use that. For college credit. For example, we we have a lot of students at UMass Boston that transfer a lot of their AP credits and that can save them, you know, 369 even up to 12 credits for their first year.

So something to think about as you're figuring out where to apply to. [01:02:00] Always, you know, ask yourself these four questions. You have the same right as anybody, even if you're undocumented, to still dream and hope and make grand plans for yourself. You have rights and you have these pathways available to you.

So you don't just have to focus on the money. Of course, the money is very important, but ask yourself too, like, what are my interests? What makes me happy? Um, have I thought about my future career? Is there a college program or other program that is going to help me prepare for that? I sometimes, um, do advise my undocumented students to, to work smarter, not harder.

So there's a program that's only two years that still gets them the degree they need to do the career they want. Why spend four years? Why pay for four years when you can pay for two? Obviously that's a simplified example. I'm not advocating that everyone only. only do a two year degree, but do make this career focus.

You know, if you have a clear idea of what you need, what is the program? What is the certification that's going to get you there? [01:03:00] Um, the last thing I want sometimes is for students to not have a clear idea and to just be spending money trying to figure it out. For some students that works, but for others, Um, it might be just best to just start small and then maybe stack, um, different credits that you are earning toward, you know, your, your ultimate goal.

You also need to ask yourself, especially if you're undocumented, if your ideal career path does in fact need a work permit, do you have one? Um, might there be some illegal screening or something you can do to see if you can get a path toward a work permit? So always kind of think about that dual path of like, What is my education looking like?

Well, what are my legal options as well, especially for careers in the medical field or education? Those often do require quarry checks, background checks, and other things that do require that social security number or that work permit. And so think about your ideal [01:04:00] career path. If it is in the medical or education field, There is a real sort of need for that work permit.

Does that change your plans, then? Or do you keep even more focused on that and try to see if there's any legal, any legal processes that might allow you to get that work permit? So it is, it can be stressful. But, but definitely the earlier you start thinking about all this, the better. If, if you're into a career path that might not need a work permit.

So for example, small business owners, business, finance, arts, um, there's so many different careers that actually don't require a work permit. You can work for yourself as a self employed person or independent contractor. Um, and actually the link here, when you get access to these slides, you'll be able to link into a really great resource.

by an organization out of California called Immigrants Rising that actually details how you can work as an independent contractor and work for yourself without that social security [01:05:00] number or without that work permit. Um, so there, there are some great options there as well. And then finally, we do have to ask about financial support, um, but there are some scholarship resources at the end of this presentation to think about it.

So just. Thinking about applying to two year, four year college. Be honest about your immigration status. Always connect with someone at the admissions office. Maybe that works with multicultural students or that works with your local high school. Don't get discouraged if you're asking a question about your status or financial aid and the person at the college doesn't know the answer right away.

Don't give up. Um, talk to your high school counselor, maybe call back. Try to Be patient, and I know it stinks because you have this added layer potentially of questions that you need to be asking, but just stay patient. And again, don't, don't go at it alone. Something you need to think about for four year colleges, especially, is that Especially the private four year colleges, [01:06:00] they might have a bunch of institutional aid to give you and that may be available.

And so that's why self disclosure is important. But it is also important to work with your counselor to create a list of colleges that are what I like, or what many of us like to call undocu friendly. That really do treat undocumented students the same way financially as they would a non undocumented students.

So, um, these colleges do exist. There's plenty of lists out there that, um, that go through which four year privates are more undocu friendly than others, but some of these colleges might consider you domestic for admissions, but international for financial aid, not all of them. And so that's also something to read through as you're creating your college list to make sure that you have all the information you need and really to stay organized.

Um, taking notes, asking questions, keeping all that really clear for all the colleges that you're thinking about. [01:07:00] And so if you have a GPA of 3. 8 or higher, um, good job. Yay. Um, you've been working hard academically. That's awesome. And so my advice to you is to really look at these colleges that are deemed undocu friendly, especially the ones that, you know, commit to meeting 100 percent of demonstrated need.

And this is advice I would give any student with this GPA ban. Um, and these undocu friendly colleges often do provide a lot of need based aid and a lot of merit based aid so that they, they will look at your financial, um, financial situation and say, well, if you need it, we might commit. To giving you all of it.

Um, they might require a CSS profile, which is an additional financial aid form for private for some private colleges. And so if you have a GPA, if they point it higher and you have your site set on for your colleges, you should be as a [01:08:00] junior or senior, really in your high school, college or career counseling office, partnering with your high school counselor to draft up a list of these undocu friendly colleges.

Make sure that you and your family ask questions. Being first gen and an immigrant is tough. Um, not assuming you're first gen, but a lot of immigrants are first gen, myself included. So their advice can also help you, um, and stay open. You know, there are some colleges, maybe outside of Boston or outside of Massachusetts, that might.

be really interested in. You might really want to give you a lot of money. And if you haven't had those conversations with your family about leaving home, this could be a great time to do it. Um, especially if you're undocumented and you might have more financial options if you expand the radius of where you're willing to travel to, to study.

So lots of really exciting things, but lots of hard conversations also to be had. Um, but include your families as much [01:09:00] as you can. Toward these colleges, the same goes for you, whether you're undocumented or not. This should be a really fun, exciting, nerve wracking experience. Um, and it's, it's a really special experience.

Now, if your GPA is between a 3. also great. Um, you've been working really hard. Um, Thinking about for you, if you're fully undocumented, really being strategic about colleges that give merit aid based on your GPA, and your counselor will be able to tell you which ones in the area are known to do that. A lot of my students that are undocumented might also think, well, Maybe I, I can live at home at least for a few years while I go to college, if it's close enough, because that might allow me to save money and room and board, which can make a big difference, whether it's a private or public institution.

This is kind of a long shot, but Hey, some of my [01:10:00] students have taken advantage advantage of this. Um, there are other states that have lower cost of living, um, that have sort of the same sort of low tuition rates as Massachusetts would have. And I've had students that say, hey, My relatives live in this state, I could get a job there, lower cost of living, great colleges, I'm open to traveling, and this could be a way if you've always wanted to travel, to do it in a way that could be a little bit more affordable.

Again, a long shot, not everyone has relatives in other states, but for students that want to save money, that could be great. Spend time also getting feedback on your college applications and your essay. Sometimes I also would advise students to really cast a wide net in terms of what colleges are applying to, you know, aim high, but also have some real safeties, you know, make sure that you're, you're applying to colleges in [01:11:00] all of the different bands, so that you have as many options as possible.

And also, you know, Close, far, try to be as open as possible, of course, after you talk to your families and to make sure that that's right for you. What if you're sitting there and you're like, well, my GPA isn't very high, what are my options? I still want to say congratulations, because high school is hard and you're doing it, you're on your way, so, Well done.

Um, and you can still make your goals a reality. Um, think about college as, you know, maybe I want to start a two year college or then continue on to a four year college. You know, now that we have tuition equity, we have more options as undocumented students. And so all community colleges have this in state tuition now in Massachusetts.

With the exact with the caveat of you have to have been in Massachusetts for at least three years. Remember that the high school completion completer status. But there are also other [01:12:00] options like programs like duet through Southern New Hampshire University. You know, I named a few other ones here that some undocumented students have had good success with here in the Boston area.

This is true regardless of GPA, but especially if you're questioning whether you want to go to college or your GPA is high enough, I go back to what are your career goals? What are your skills? What are your interests? Um, is there a shorter program that, that might get to get you to where you want? If you have a work permit, so say you have TPS or DACA, maybe there are some vocational programs or apprenticeships.

official apprenticeships that you can start working on that don't include maybe college right away. And always know that, especially once you start on on that college or post secondary journey, It's a blank slate for you. So once you leave high school and [01:13:00] enroll, say, at a two year college or program, your high school GPA doesn't follow you.

You know, you're kind of blank slate, new start. And so really try to imagine yourself five, ten years down the road, what kind of career, what kind of job you want, and work backwards. I sometimes always tell my students, you know, find your program, not necessarily the college. Find that program that that's going to prepare you for for what you want.

And that is advice regardless of GPA. And I want to end here in the last few minutes, maybe two, three minutes, with just a reminder that private scholarships do fall under the financial aid umbrella. Um, and so especially for undocumented students, private scholarships become can become quite important.

My advice is to do all of the MASFA tuition equity applications first, and once all of that is done, then shift your attention to private scholarships. More and more scholarships are becoming open [01:14:00] to students regardless of immigration status, but some colleges, sorry, some private Um, scholarships do still have, uh, immigration status stipulation.

So before you get really excited and start applying, make sure you're really reading through that eligibility criteria to make sure that you can apply for it, always meet the deadlines and make sure you're applying to a good mix of national and local scholarships as well. Local scholarships might be smaller amounts, also smaller pools.

National scholarships, larger pools, larger amounts. So you want to make sure that you apply to a little bit of both, um, and always ask your high school office, um, counseling office, um, for their list of local scholarships. So here are four scholarship resources I really like. Um, different states might have their own resource guides, um, but I always like to actually point students to number three and number four first.

Immigrant, Immigrants Rising Scholarship Resource Guide [01:15:00] is great. And they've recently revamped it so that you can, there's actually like a little search engine and you can put in different, uh, criteria and it pops out different scholarships for you. And all of these are open to undocumented students.

And then the dreamers roadmap is a great app. Um, where you can just on your phone, you know, be searching up scholarships. So good luck. Um, I know that was a lot, um, to cover in about an hour and 20 minutes. So I hope, uh, thank you for sticking with us. Um, I'm just like very thankful for your time. And don't forget to ask for help and to know that you're not alone.

And I'm here if you need me. Thank you very much.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Thank you, Andrea. And thank you everyone. Good night.