Before I even got to college, I felt so limited in my options for higher education. As a DACA student I do not qualify for Federal student aid, this makes it impossible for me to afford attending any university. Even though I had strong grades, the only schools I would actually be able to afford were schools in my home town, Texas. This was my perception going into my freshman year of college.
My perception did not change until one day I got the news that I had been awarded a scholarship that could help pay for my education. All of a sudden I didn’t feel limited anymore. As a high school student you maybe thinking the same thing about how expensive college is!
The reality is that even if you are a DACA student, there are still scholarships available to you! You can never start too early to applying for scholarships. You are more likely to get a scholarship if start your research early. This allows you to be able to apply to a variety of scholarships. A good resource to have is your high school counselor or advisor! They can help you in this process. Even now that I am in college, I am still applying for scholarships. I’m currently working on applying to a scholarship that will cover the cost of my study abroad trip in the summer. This is a never ending process that you can practice so college becomes affordable to you.
One of the struggles I have now is trying to make time to do things that are important to me. I feel like it is difficult to have a moment away from everything going on at school and work at times. This is when having a calendar comes in handy. Having a calendar gives me a better sense of time. It allows me to see what days I am most busy, and the days I have a little more free time to enjoy doing something I like. It’s important to have a balanced between these two because it can help you be stress free.