School Counselors Igniting the Hope of Undocumented Students in College Access

Abstract

Undocumented immigrant students represent 2% of the total U.S. higher education population. Due to their citizenship status, many undocumented high school students encounter barriers to college access including prohibitive admissions policies, increased tuition rates, and funding restrictions. Some undocumented students experience anxiety, frustration, and fear due to these barriers. School counselors can utilize group counseling to guide undocumented students through the college access process and potentially cultivate hope for the future. This article details a college access group for undocumented high school students. The group goals and activities utilize a Hope Theory framework.

Documenting Their Decisions: How Undocumented Students Enroll and Persist in College

“…School personnel can influence postsecondary choices via personal connections, mentorship, or technical knowledge of the postsecondary processes needed to successfully apply and enroll (Gonzales, 2010; Nienhusser, 2013; Pérez, 2010; Pérez & McDonough, 2008; Suárez-Orozco et al, 2015; Sulkowski, 2017). School counselors can provide counseling tailored to undocumented students and their parents, which can create a supportive setting by helping students identify colleges that have embraced undocumented students and instilling advocacy skills to boost parents’ confidence in taking a proactive role in their child’s postsecondary education (Chen et al, 2010; Groce & Johnson, 2021; Morrison & Bryan, 2014; Perez, 2010; Roth, 2017). At the same time, the higher-education context can influence undocumented students’ college choices and persistence through the institutions’ climate, which can affect students’ perceptions of institutional prejudice or social belonging within the institution (Cabrera et al, 1999; Locks et al, 2008).…”