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Resources for Supporting DACA/Dreamer Individuals in their Quest for Health, Education, and Independence

In 2012, the United States government announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, giving certain rights and protections to hundreds of thousands of people who entered the country as children and met specific criteria. As the years have passed, legislation has changed and altered the program. However, currently, there are still recipients of DACA who need support in healthcare, education, and legal protections as they work to enjoy the benefits of living in the only country they know.

As of December 2022, more than 580,000 recipients of DACA live in the United States. Most DACA recipients have graduated high school, and over half have attended postsecondary education. Many recipients of DACA say they have pursued further education and work opportunities than if they had remained undocumented. There are still 12 million undocumented individuals in the United States, and efforts to block or dismantle DACA have put their status into question.

Recipients of DACA are often called Dreamers because they ‘dream’ of a life with full rights in the United States. Dreamers’ advocacy resonates with social justice professionals since it integrates the well-being and fundamental rights of vulnerable and minority populations. Advocating for legislative solutions, better healthcare access, and more robust educational support are all ways to support Dreamers and their contributions to society. In particular, social workers, education professionals, healthcare workers, and people in business have the power to create the most change as their roles are consistent with supporting individual growth, worth, and development, and they all help to ensure these individuals are treated with dignity and respect.

Advanced Standing MSW has put together a comprehensive list of resources with link to help DACA students. Here is the link to the page with all of those resources: https://www.advancedstandingmsw.com/resources-daca-support/

Top 10 Career Categories for Remote Jobs in 2024

Do your students dream of finding a job where they can make $100,000+ and work from home? Believe it or not there are many careers where that is possible. Flex Jobs just posted the top 10 categories of remote jobs for 2024, most of which can earn six figure salaries. Here is the list:

1. Computer & IT

Recent remote job titles:

2. Accounting & Finance

Recent remote job titles: 

3. Marketing

Recent remote job titles: 

4. Medical & Health

Recent remote job titles: 

5. Project Management

Recent remote job titles: 

6. Customer Service

Recent remote job titles:

7. Sales

Recent remote job titles:

8. Administrative

Recent remote job titles:

9. HR & Recruiting

Recent remote job titles:

10. Operations

Recent remote job titles:

How to Direct Your Students to Find Private Scholarships

Applying for scholarships can be a daunting task, yet it’s worth the time it takes to do it. Many scholarships go unawarded each year, and your students won’t get scholarships if they don’t apply for them.

But how do they locate private scholarships? And what can they do to improve their chances of getting scholarships?

Today, I’m sharing tips to take the mystery out of the process. We’ll start with an overview of what private scholarships are, and then we’ll cover how to find them.

What is a private scholarship?

A private scholarship is a type of financial aid funded by private entities rather than government bodies or educational institutions. These entities include corporations, non-profit organizations, foundations, community groups, and individuals. 

Private scholarships are often awarded based on a variety of criteria, including academic achievement, artistic or athletic talent, affiliation with certain groups, or career aspirations.

These scholarships have eligibility criteria established by the organization offering the money. The application process for these scholarships may require you to submit essays, letters of recommendation, or other materials that showcase your qualifications and alignment with the scholarship’s goals.

Private scholarship awards vary widely in terms of the amount awarded and the scholarship duration. Some might be one-time awards, while others could be renewable.

Advice for Students to find private scholarships

Now, let’s look at ways your students can find and apply for private scholarships.

Ask colleges about scholarships 

First and foremost, always check with the financial aid departments at the colleges you are applying to. Many times, just by applying to the college, you can qualify for merit scholarships based on your GPA and possibly test scores.

Sometimes, there are additional applications you’ll need to fill out on top of the regular admission application. That’s why it’s best to check with the school’s financial aid department to see if there is an additional application or additional steps that you must complete to be eligible. 

Check scholarship websites 

You can use numerous scholarship websites and online resources to find scholarships. Though the pool of students applying to these published scholarships is much larger, many are not applied for or awarded at all.

These websites include Bold.org, Sallie Mae, and Appily. For many of these websites, you do have to sign up and make a profile. But once you do that, they match the best scholarships to fit your criteria. 

Vetting scholarship websites

An excellent scholarship platform encompasses several qualities that make up its effectiveness and user satisfaction. To start, being a trustworthy site is vital for establishing credibility and helping you feel secure in sharing your information. 

Also, you should not have to look around the website and sift through it to find scholarships. The website should be user-friendly and provide options to filter what you see based on your criteria. 

Start looking for scholarships early 

Be sure to start this process early because it can be time-consuming. You can begin as early as your freshman year. 

Most scholarships have the same annual deadline, so you can even begin making a list of scholarships you want to apply for so you can return to them later. Being organized in this way will help you prioritize which applications to start with when the time comes.  

Look into niche-specific scholarships 

Think about the unique interests or hobbies that help make up your identity because there are often corresponding scholarship opportunities. 


If you are an engineering student, search for scholarships catered towards seniors interested in an engineering program. If you are adopted, search for scholarships that are for adopted students. Sometimes, these scholarship opportunities will be for all grade levels as well. 

Read the fine print and know what you’re applying for

Be sure to read the fine print to ensure your scholarship eligibility. You also want to gather all of the required application materials. 

If you need a copy of your high school transcript, ask your Guidance office for this in advance. If you need letters of recommendation, be sure to ask people who can write these well in advance to give them ample time to complete them. 

Please pass these tips along to your students!

Sara Shaver is the Director of Student Services at My College Planning Team

7 Solutions to Common FAFSA Issues

The FAFSA rollout continues to have speed bumps and there are a lot of questions that have arisen from the revised FAFSA process. Going Merry put out a nice list of 7 solutions Counselors can suggest to families if they run into issues when filling out their children’s forms:

Use a different browser. Some users have had success with switching internet browsers, clearing their browser history, or disabling browser extensions or plugins. 

Come back later. Try accessing the FAFSA® site late at night or early in the morning when it’s not as busy.

Contact the FSA Office. If you’re still having trouble, ask the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Office for help. You can reach them at customerservice@studentaid.gov or 800-4-FED-AID.

Try the live chat. The FSA Office has also launched a new chat feature called Ask Aidan. The chat is designed to help you get basic questions answered more quickly than via call or email.

Be patient. The FSA Office won’t release FAFSA information to schools until the end of January 2024. So, you have all month to work on your form, and there’s no advantage to submitting it earlier than that. 

Do other prep work in advance. If you’re having trouble filling out the FAFSA right now, use your time to prepare instead. Check out this FAFSA® Prep assignment. 

Submit the form no matter what. Every year, the FAFSA® helps millions of students gain access to Pell Grants, subsidized federal loans, and other lucrative sources of federal aid. If you skip the form, you could be leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table. Stick with it and keep checking back!

Here is their blog post with a more detailed guide to managing FAFSA issues

Private Student Loans: Everything Your Students Parents Need to Know

College is expensive! Students should always look first to scholarships, grants, and savings to pay for college. Then they should investigate federal student loans. Unfortunately, oftentimes these won’t cover everything so their families will need to consider private loans to fill in the gaps. There are many issues to consider with private student loans including the interest rate, repayment terms, lender credibility, and customer service.

Citizens Bank has put together a great primer about private student loans than can help educate parents on what to look for. Questions answered include:

Use the links above to go to a specific section of their post or follow this link to see the entire primer on private student loans: https://www.citizensbank.com/learning/what-are-private-student-loans.aspx?ctzMode=CFG-SOO_VOC_ISA_CTZ_ECS_LIADVCYLOA

FAFSA Issues – Link to site that outlines some of the issues and solutions to them

Saying the new FAFSA rollout has had some issues is stating the obvious. There have been numerous reported problems with the rollout. The US Department of Education has launched a page that outlines some of those issues and the solutions to them. There is a section that lists all the open issues and another that lists all the resolved issues. Here is a link so you can bookmark it and share with students and their parents – https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/fafsa-simplification-information/2024-25-fafsa-issue-alerts

FAQs on the New Digital SAT

Just like in medicine, in the world of college admissions, there are generalists and specialists. I am a generalist. I know a lot about undergraduate admissions; what colleges are looking for, how to write the most compelling essays, and much more. But I am not a testing zealot, I don’t get involved in athletic recruitment and I would refer you to someone who is much more plugged in if you have concerns regarding learning disabilities.

For today’s column, I reached out to Perry Youngblood who is also an independent educational consultant, but he specializes in testing strategies and test prep. He has put together the wonderful primer below on the new digital SAT which will be released in March 2024.

Here’s the most updated information on the Digital SAT.

For several months we have known that a new SAT was coming effective March 2024, and we’ve known many of the characteristics of the new test including:

  • It’s a digital test entirely on the computer
  • It’s one hour shorter for a total of two hours and 14 minutes
  • Even with the reduced testing time, the reduction in the number of questions results in the SAT giving 63% more time per question than the current ACT (see the timing data below)
  • It’s an adaptive test, meaning that each of the two sections is divided into two modules, the first of an average level of difficulty and the second either easier or harder depending on how the student does on the first module.

Now that we’ve had a chance to look at released practice tests, what else have we learned that students need to understand?

A wider range of difficulty

If the second module of both the Reading and Writing (RW) and Math sections can be either easier or more difficult and the timing and number of questions are the same, the student who gets the more difficult Module 2 should expect to have to work faster to allow time for some more difficult questions.

More use of the calculator

In math, the student should expect a few problems of a higher level of difficulty than those on the paper SAT. Some of these seem designed to be solved with a calculator, while all the math questions on the paper SAT could be reasonably solved without a calculator. So, it’s important that the student become knowledgeable of most, if not all, of the capabilities of the included Desmos calculator.

Here’s the comparison of the timing between the tests:

ACT                             Minutes               Questions

ENGLISH                             45                                75

MATH                                   60                                60

READING                             35                                40

SCIENCE                              35                                40

TOTAL: 180 Minutes        215 Questions,       .84 Min/Question     

Paper SAT                 Minutes             Questions

Reading                                65                                52

Writing                                 35                                 44

Math – NC*                           25                                 20

Math – C**                            55                                 38

*NC – No Calculator

**C – Calculator

TOTAL: 180 Minutes           154 Questions          1.17 Min/Question 

Digital SAT              Minutes                    Questions

Reading/Writing             64                                  54

Math                                70                                 44

TOTAL: 134 Minutes           98 Questions 1.37 Min/Question

The Paper SAT had 39% more time per question than the ACT. The Digital SAT has 63% more time per question than the ACT.

Perry Youngblood has been tutoring for the SAT and ACT for 22 years. He has followed both these tests through several major changes. Along the way, he took on the GRE, which, like the SAT,  rolled out a shortened digital test in 2023. Earlier in life Perry did an engineering degree at NC State, managed technology change for a Fortune 100 tech company, and did consulting projects in Kiev and London. Deciding he wanted to work with students, Perry got certified to teach high school math, but prefers one-on-one tutoring. https://www.perryyoungblood.com.

 Lee Bierer is an independent college adviser based in Charlotte. Send questions to: lee@bierercollegeconsulting.com; www.bierercollegeconsulting.com

Free Student Worksheet: Researching Scholarships and Grants

Scholarships and grants are thebesttype of financial aid; it’s basically free money! This worksheet developed by Going Merry will help high school students learn about, find, and apply for scholarships and grants to help pay for college. Add this resource to your virtual classroom for future reference! Here is a link to this great resource you can use for your students: https://www.goingmerry.com/counselor-resource-researching-scholarships-and-grants-worksheet/?utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=unreg-counselors-jan-5&utm_term=unreg-counselors

Latest on News and Opportunities for Neurodivergent Students

Here are some great opportunities for neurodivergent students compiled by Eric Endlich (who can be followed on LinkedIn for more frequent updates on these types of opportunities):

Paid Summer Internship – College Students/Grads

Do you know any neurodivergent college students or recent grads looking for a paid STEM-related summer internship? Look no further than the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University!

From the website at FCAI Autism Summer Internship Applications Now Open for 2024! | Frist Center for Autism and Innovation | Vanderbilt University: The Frist Center is excited to announce applications are now open for our Autism Summer Internship Program.

The program is open to undergraduate students who identify as neurodiverse (either through formal or self-diagnosis).

Through this internship, successful applicants will undergo a STEM project with a faculty mentor, under the guidance of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation.

This year the program will take place between May 27th – August 2nd, in person on the Vanderbilt University Campus.

Interested undergraduates should apply at this Google Form by the closing date of 11:59pm CT on February 14th. This internship will focus primarily on science and engineering (STEM) related projects.

Many neurodivergent folks are undiagnosed – they understand this and ask that your students do not let lack of a formal diagnosis keep them from applying. Participants are current college undergraduate students or recent college graduates. Interns will be paid, as well as receiving a stipend for housing. While most interns are autistic, those with other types of neurodiversity may apply as well!

They also strongly encourage those from minority backgrounds or underrepresented groups to apply.

Paid Summer STEM Internship – High School Students

From the website at N3: NASA’s Neurodiversity Network (sonoma.edu):

Each year through 2025, NASA’s Neurodiversity Network will accept applications for summer interns to work on projects with NASA scientists. The goal of the N3 program is to provide experiences for neurodiverse students, specifically those who identify as autistic, that will spark their interest in careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

All interns will be paired with a Subject Matter Expert (SME) from NASA’s network. Individual SMEs will have expertise in at least one of the following areas:

  • Planetary Science
  • Earth Science
  • Space Science
  • Engineering
  • Computer Science

The work schedule will be mutually agreed upon by the intern and the SME. Internships will be completed remotely during Summer 2024 and N3 interns will receive a $1,000 stipend upon completion of their internship. Students are expected to complete approximately 100 hours of work over the internship period.

If you have questions about eligibility or application details after reviewing this webpage, you can contact their team at ariccio@edc.org.

To apply, they must receive your application and a letter of recommendation from a teacher who can speak to your skills and interests in specific areas related to NASA subjects. A recommendation letter from a teacher or another professional is required of all applicants. Full applications are due by March 8, 2024. Applicants will be notified of their application result during the week of April 8th.

Guidelines:

  • Prospective interns must be current high school students 16 years of age or older. Preference will be given to students who are rising juniors or older but rising sophomores are invited to apply.
  • Prospective interns must identify as autistic to align with N3’s mission.
  • Prospective interns must have completed pre-calculus, and at least two years of physical science courses (e.g. earth science, chemistry or physics). Note that in the past, applicants who have completed a calculus course and two years of physical science have been most likely to be selected. If you have not yet taken these classes, please consider reapplying next year.
  • Summer 2024 interns will complete at least 100 hours between June 1 and September 1, 2024. Upon completion of their final projects, interns will receive a $1,000 stipend.

Prospective interns may submit their responses using the linked application form or submit recorded audio, written text, video, or written answers transcribed by a scribe. If there are other accommodations that would assist with your internship application process, please contact our N3 internship team at ariccio@edc.org. We hope to learn from our N3 interns to build our understanding about the best ways to work with neurodiverse youth.

Summer Neurodiversity Advocacy Camp – High School Students

Stanford Neurodiversity Project – Research Education Advocacy Camp for High School Students https://med.stanford.edu/neurodiversity/SNP-REACH2024.html 

  • Hybrid July 8-July 19
  • In-Person (at Stanford) July 22-August 2
  • Application deadline April 17

From the website: Students will join via Zoom or in person on Stanford’s campus from around the US and around the world. The remote setting allows students to listen carefully to educators, make use of closed captioning, and use preference of voice or the chat function to communicate, which fosters full engagement in group discussions. Leading lecturers, researchers, and clinicians from Stanford and around the country will present on different aspect of neurodiversity and allyship. Small group projects allow students to connect in a deeper more active way. Both remote and in-person formats allows students to make new friends, expand your worldview and continue the conversation beyond the camp.

Selected campers will have the distinctive opportunity to present their final projects at the Stanford Neurodiversity Summit. This virtual summit is a unique conference bringing together neurodiverse / neurodivergent individuals, employers, service agencies, educators and students, parents, and professionals from all areas of the field. Previous Summit presenters have included Temple Grandin, PhD, Representative Jessica Benham, (state of Pennsylvania), neurodiversity pioneer Judy Singer, and many more. Camp participants who participate in the Summit will join a lineup of world class speakers.

Autism Scholarship – High School and College Students

Apply For Our Autism Scholarship – KFM Making A Difference

Thanks to Kerry Magro for providing these scholarships for autistic college students and college-bound high school students! Complete instructions are available on the KFM website.

From the website: All high school students with autism attending a post-secondary program in the 2024-2025 academic year may apply. In addition, all current college students with autism may apply as well who will be attending a post-secondary program in the 2024-2025 academic year. This scholarship has no geographic restrictions meaning it’s open to all upcoming and current college students with autism in the U.S and internationally! If you were selected in a previous year and/or weren’t selected you may reapply as long as you are still attending college in the 2024-2025 academic year. Just make sure to send us a new original application and essay!

The winning applicant will receive a $500 scholarship to be used to pay for their post-secondary education.

All scholarship applications need to be filled out with all of the requirements listed below by no later than Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at Midnight EST! 

Relationship Workshop/Study for Autistic Adults (with potential stipend)

Healthy Relationships on the Autism Spectrum (HEARTS):  April 2024 class and research study

Online “Closed” 12-Part Workshop – Healthy Relationships on The Autism Spectrum (HEARTS) for Adults, 4/25/24 – 8/22/24, 7:15 PM – 8:45 PM ET – AANE

Healthy Relationships on the Autism Spectrum (HEARTS) is a 12 session workshop for autistic adults who would like to learn about, and talk about, healthy friendship and dating relationships offered in conjunction with the Autism and Neurodiversity Network (AANE). HEARTS provides education about what a healthy vs. unhealthy relationship feels like, how to notice warning signs that a relationship is becoming unhealthy, how to cope with a breakup or end of a friendship how to restart friendships with people when you have fallen out of touch, and how to stay motivated to meet new people. HEARTS is rooted in a neurodiversity perspective and is taught by an autistic and non-autistic team. HEARTS affirms all relationship types and styles, all genders, and all sexual orientations (LGBTQ+, poly, asexual, etc.). 

DATES OF CLASS SESSIONS: April 25, May 2, May 9, May 16, May 23, May 30, July 18, July 25, August 1, August 8, August 15, August 22

TIME: 7:15 PM  – 8:45 PM ET

WHERE: Online via Zoom 

HEARTS is also being evaluated through a randomized controlled trial funded by NIH. Therefore, people who sign up for the HEARTS class and meet eligibility criteria can also receive up to $300 on a e-gift card for participation in surveys and interviews related to HEARTS.

Lastly, here is a sortable database of 200+ neurodiversity-friendly colleges and universities Eric maintains: College Programs for Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Disabilities | College Consultants (topcollegeconsultants.com).]

Link to document that Eric maintains with additional programs and opportunities – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f738ZIQrLa1MXVRjfrQR7672Rq0_LU0nDuTj1AUregw/edit

IB Scholarships and Recognition

Michael Hirsch, a Counselor at West Island School in Hong Kong has compiled a list of Universities that offer IB Scholarships and have IB Recognition and Programs. In his document he has tabs with information on the following data:

  • USA – IB Scholarships
  • AAU IB Credit Policies
  • Colleges that Change Lives Recognition Policies
  • US IB Recognition
  • Canada – IB Scholarships
  • Europe – IB Scholarships
  • Europe – IB Recognition
  • Canada -IB Recognition
  • UK – IB Scholarships
  • UK – IB Recognition
  • Global – IB Scholarships
  • Global – IB Recognition

Here is a link to this excellent resource your students that are interested in IB programs can use: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mzYUhzOstSR3lpaH3_PWMXEQGYj_niBsHbKEe9QSeCI/edit#gid=1348350578

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