Boston
Public colleges are more likely than private colleges to admit undocumented students as a matter of policy, but they are less likely to offer such students financial aid, according to a new survey.
The survey by the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good, at the University of Michigan, was sent to members of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators in February. It found that 36 percent of public colleges and 21 percent of private colleges had policies that allow undocumented students to enroll, while 29 percent of public colleges and 57 percent of private colleges provide them with institutional aid. The initial survey findings were released Sunday at Nasfaa's annual conference here in Boston. The final report will be released in late August.
The survey also found that public colleges were more likely than private institutions to hew to state laws governing undocumented students. Sixty percent of public colleges in states that grant admission or in-state tuition to undocumented students said they admit undocumented students. In states that deny admission or in-state tuition to undocumented students, 30 percent of colleges said they don't admit such students (the other 70 percent don't have a policy explicitly denying admission).
Only a third of private college administrators from "inclusive" states said they admit undocumented students, and 19 percent said they don't. None of the administrators from "restrictive" states said they deny admission to undocumented students.
Not all public colleges mirrored state policies, however. In fact, 33 percent of aid administrators from states with "restrictive policies" said they admit undocumented students, and 9 percent of colleges in states with "inclusive" policies said they don't.
