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By the time her senior year of high school rolled around, Maricruz Marquez Alvarado had done everything she could think of to prepare for college. She took Advanced Placement classes and participated in her school’s college readiness program. But when she went to apply, her guidance counselor turned her away, because Marquez Alvarado, who is undocumented, didn't have a social security number.
“She just told me to close my computer and go and read a book,” Marquez Alvarado said.
A social security number is not required to attend college nor to apply for financial aid, but Marquez Alvarado's guidance counselor didn't know that. So in a matter of minutes, everything Marquez Alvarado had worked so hard for slipped away.
Two California laws that took effect Jan. 1 aim to ensure no future students share Marquez Alvarado’s experience while applying for college. One of the laws — Assembly Bill 1540 — simplifies two previously separate steps in the financial aid process for undocumented students. The other — AB 278 — establishes a Dream Resource Center Grant Program to support undocumented high schoolers, something Marquez Alvarado could have benefited from when she was in high school.
But instead of going to college after graduating from high school, she started working in agricultural fields in Salinas.
Marquez Alvarado did eventually make it to college, a decade after her guidance counselor told her it wasn’t an option for her. Now, she’s pursuing a bachelor’s degree at CSU Monterey Bay. The road to get there was challenging, though. After years of working in the fields, Marquez Alvarado received DACA status — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — in 2015. DACA was a game changer, allowing Marquez Alvarado to work legally in the United States. She found an office job at a nonprofit and worked there for five years.
“And one day, I just got to the office and I was just like, 'What is next?'” she said.
She did some research and realized most jobs she was interested in required at least a bachelor’s degree. So she decided to call Hartnell Community College in Salinas. It was there that she finally found a mentor who helped her enroll and make a plan. The mentor made sure Marquez Alvarado knew which forms she had to fill out and how to apply for financial aid — something Marquez Alvarado thought was off the table, given her immigration status.
Although Marquez Alvarado eventually found support and resources at the college level, AB 278 aims to provide that support for undocumented high school students — especially when it comes time to navigate the financial aid process.
Undocumented students are not eligible for federal aid, but they can apply for state aid through the California Dream Act Application (CADAA). Until this year, they had to complete an additional form establishing residency for in-state tuition. That two-step process was confusing for students, according to Guillermo Metelin Bock, who runs CSUMB’s Undocu-Success Center.
“Some of our students have communicated, at least to me, that it's a barrier because it delays the process for financial aid as well,” says Metelin Bock.
The first time Anahi Alcibar applied for financial aid, as a Hartnell student, she was shocked when she checked her tuition charges. She was sure she had completed the CADAA, but she didn’t know about the additional form.
“I really had to go to the admissions office and then ask why I was being charged international fees,” Alcibar, now a graduate student at CSUMB, said. “And that's when they told me, like, 'Oh, you need to fill out this form.'”
Like Marquez Alvarado, Alcibar struggled to navigate the complicated financial aid process as an undocumented college student. This is where the second new law, AB 1540, comes into play. It streamlines the financial aid application by including the residency form within the CADAA.
When Alcibar heard about the new laws, “I was like, 'Oh my God, where was this when I was in high school?'”
Ramiro Medrano is a counselor at Everett Alvarez High School in Salinas, where Alcibar graduated years ago. He said several students have told him they don’t think they can go to college because they are undocumented.
“And that requires a one-on-one,” Medrano says. “We need to take that extra step to make sure that we're building those relationships with our students so that they know that we are someone that they can trust.”
After hearing about AB 278, Medrano hopes Everett Alvarez will apply for one of the Dream Resource Center grants.
“I think every high school should have one,” he says, adding that undocumented students should know college is an option. “There's ways to do this. And so it’s really planting the seed, giving them hope and following up.”
For Marquez Alvarado, the CSUMB undergrad, one of her dreams is to use her education to help the next generation of undocumented high school students. She hopes to earn a master's degree — maybe even a PhD — and one day, to work in one of those Dream Resource Centers.
“I think those centers are key for student success,” she says. “So they don't feel lost. Because that's where I lost myself.”
To be considered for financial aid for the 2024-25 school year, students should submit the CADAA by April 2.
CSU Monterey Bay holds the FCC license for 90.3 KAZU. The station is located on the university’s campus.
