Undocumented students who qualify under AB540 criteria can apply for financial aid by submitting the California Dream Act Application. To be considered for King Hall grants and need-based scholarships undocumented AB540 eligible students must complete the following steps:
- Submit a California Dream Act Application by the March 2 priority deadline each year for maximum financial aid consideration. We do not require parent information on the Dream Act application.
- Entering students will automatically be considered for King Hall merit scholarships based on their admissions application.
- There are opportunities to receive outside scholarships. For a list of scholarship opportunities, please visit our Outside Scholarships page for AB540 students. The AccessLex Scholarship Databank also contains scholarships for non-U.S. citizens and publishes a Max Pre-Law Guide for Non-U.S. Citizens.
- Undocumented students who complete the California Dream Act Application and demonstrate financial need may also borrow up to $4,000 each academic year under the California DREAM Loan Program.
Additional Resources for Undocumented Students
For more information, please visit the UC California Dream Act webpage provided by the University of California. CSAC also provides useful resources about the California Dream Act. We also have listed a variety of resources available to undocumented students, including scholarship opportunities:
- UC Davis AB540 and Undocumented Student Center Resources (offers myriad support services, including emergency loans for graduate and professional school students)
- UC Immigration Legal Services Center (based at the law school, provides free immigration legal services to undocumented students and their immediate families, as well as U.S. citizen students with undocumented immediate family members)
- AB540 and Undocumented Student Center Resources
- AB540 Website
- Chicana/Latina Foundation
- Dreamers Fund (offers tuition scholarships and emergency loan scholarships)
- Immigrants Rising (formerly E4FC)
- Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) LMJ Scholarship
- FinAid - The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid
- MALDEF - The Latino Legal Voice for Civil Rights in America
- Osher REENTRY Scholarship Program for UC Davis Students
- Outside Scholarships for AB540 Students
Information on AB540
Until the passage of the Dream Act, undocumented students were not eligible for state or university funded financial aid. Under this new law, undocumented students who qualify under AB540 criteria may now be eligible for certain types of financial aid, including the law school's merit-based scholarships and need-based grants. The California Dream Act Application is used to determine a student's eligibility for need-based financial aid. For information on what this means for you at UC Davis, please see the Paying for UC's California Dream Act webpage.
Information on Deferred Action
On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several key guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and would then be eligible for work authorization. Deferred action is a discretionary determination to defer removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion. Deferred action does not provide an individual with lawful status. For more information visit the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival webpage.