New Scholar Central

We’ve created this one-stop-shop for all things related to your TheDream.US orientation. You will still receive our emails, but you can also bookmark this page to find the same info all in one place!

Countdown to the New Scholar Welcome on Aug 2nd at 2:00 pm ET!

 

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Congratulations and welcome to TheDream.US family!

With your Scholarship comes a few responsibilities. We will be sending you an email each Wednesday over the next few weeks with steps to help orient you to our program. See below!

EMAIL 1 of 5 (sent 5/25/22)

Step 1: Review Your TheDream.US Scholar Commitments and complete the Google Form acknowledgment by August 2nd.
Click here for National Scholars

Click here for Opportunity Scholars 

Step 2: Save the dates for virtual events that we will host this summer. Registration link and zoom details to come later.
Note: TheDream.US team members and Scholars are all over the country! You will need to convert our event times to your specific time zone depending on where you live.
Summer Career Series
July 14th – July 28th
The optional Summer Career Series includes 5 virtual events in July focusing on career options and entrepreneurship regardless of work authorization status. Click the image to see the full schedule!

New Scholar Welcome

Aug 2nd
Our mandatory New Scholar Welcome event is a time to meet our team members and officially welcome you into TheDream.US Community.

Step 3: Make sure your ISTS Portal has a current email that you will regularly check so you don’t miss anything. Do not use your old high school email or one that may be deactivated, or you will miss important communications from us.

 

EMAIL 2 of 5 (sent 6/01/22)

Step 1: Join TheDream.US Scholar Community on Facebook by August 2nd. This is a private, closed group of over 5,000 TheDream.US Scholars and graduates helping each other and sharing resources. The group will only be open and visible for this short period so that you may join.
  • To access the group, go to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheDream.US/
  • Click on the “+ Join Group” button on the left-hand side of the page.
  • If you are not automatically accepted, please answer the membership questions to help us verify that you are a new Scholarship recipient.

Note: If you do not have a current Facebook profile, it is your choice if you would like to create one to access the group. Joining the Scholars’ group is not mandatory but it is a wonderful place to be!

 

Step 2: Add this email address and [email protected] to your safe senders/contact list so our email messages do not end up in your spam or junk folder.

If you haven’t yet: Make sure your ISTS Portal has a current email that you will regularly check so you don’t miss anything. Do not use your old high school email or one that may be deactivated, or you will miss important communications from us.

 

Step 3: We communicate important, time-sensitive announcements via text message. You will receive a welcome text message in the next week or so. You simply need to save the number as “TheDream.US” in your phone.

Step 4: While we will primarily communicate with you via emails like this, texts, and the Facebook group, we understand that you may be on other platforms. We encourage you to also follow us on our social media to stay up to date:
  1. Twitter
  2. Instagram
  3. TikTok
  4. LinkedIn

 

EMAIL 3 of 5 (sent 6/15/22)

In this 3rd email, we introduce your National and Opportunity Scholarship Program Guides!
Click here for the National Program Guide
Click here for the Opportunity Program Guide
This Guide outlines all policies and guidelines for how your Scholarship Award is managed. When you have questions about your Scholarship award, go to your specific Program Guide first.

ACTION REQUIRED:

  1. Download/bookmark and read your specific Scholarship Program Guide to learn the Scholarship policies;
  2. Complete the Acknowledgement Form here (same form for both programs) by August 2, 2022.

EMAIL 4 of 5 (sent 6/29/22)

In this 4th onboarding email, we want to share a couple of ways to maximize your TheDream.US award and cover your total cost of attendance.

A. Your Program Guide

We introduced your Scholarship Program Guide 2 weeks ago, which outlines how the Scholarship gets paid once you are enrolled in your Partner College. The key information starts on page 8.
Pro Tip: Once your term starts, get to know your Scholar and Financial Aid Advisors. They will provide you with specifics for your partner college.

B. Apply for other Scholarships and State Aid (if available)

We encourage you to seek out and apply for as many other Scholarships as you can. Our partners at Immigrants Rising have this extensive list that they update each year. Pro Tip: Bookmark it!

If you live in a state where undocumented students can apply for state aid (CO, IL, NJ, NY, and TX), you must do so! Work with your Financial Aid Advisor to make sure you don’t miss any deadlines.

C. Take core classes for free online with Modern States

Modern States offers free online courses taught by professors at leading universities. Complete a course and take the CLEP exam. If you pass the exam, the free credits can be applied at your college in place of paying for the same class on campus.
Getting certain classes out of the way with Modern States is a smart way to save money, graduate faster and make your Scholarship award last longer.
Pro Tip: Verify with your college that they accept credits from CLEP exams.

D. Find other ways to cut costs

We created this handout that explains the “total cost of attendance” (including books, transportation, etc) and provides ways to manage or cover it all as you earn your degree.

EMAIL 5 of 5 (sent 7/13/22)

Register now for our New Scholar Welcome event! Click here

Action Item:

We want to create a slide show for the welcome event portraying you and your TheDream.US pride! If you want to be featured in the slideshow, please send any of the following to Melanny at  [email protected] along with your name, partner college, school year (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior), and major by Friday, July 22.

Suggestions for a picture of you, e.g.:

  • At campus;
  • With your family;
  • At your job;

Suggestions for a quote, e.g.:

  • Why you’re proud of being a TheDream.US Scholar;
  • Thanking the founders/donors/program;
  • Inspirational quote;
  • Overall feelings of beginning/continuing your college journey
  • Message to your future self at graduation

Suggestions for a video (30 seconds or less), e.g.:

  • Tik-Tok style video
  • Thank you message to friends, family, and supporters
  • Message to your past self and what the future awaits
(Feel free to send all three options or a combination of the options. Most Scholars send a picture with a quote.)

 

TheDream.US Zoom backgrounds!

Click here to download zoom backgrounds to use during our New Scholar Welcome.

 

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