The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy came to fruition under the Barack Obama Administration in 2012. This policy allows individuals, often called “Dreamers”, who were brought to The United States as children to work and go to school with protection from deportation. They must renew their temporary work permits every 2 years at a fee of $495.00. These individuals are not U.S. Citizens but they are allowed to reside here with limited resources compared to their citizen counterparts.
In short, yes, but there are some limitations and restrictions that may hinder DACA students from applying and attending medical school. UNM SOM proudly accepts DACA students and encourages them to apply given their ability to overcome obstacles that their status might impose. Below you can find AAMCs list of schools that accept, might accept or will not accept DACA students.
(See: MSAR® Report for Applicants and Advisors)
As of current data from the AAMC, there are about 200 DACA medical students in the U.S. with an increasing number of applicants in the past few years. Below you can find AAMCs data for DACA applicants, acceptees and matriculants.
(See: Applicants, Acceptees, and Matriculants with DACA Status to U.S. MD-Granting Medical Schools)
Aside from the challenge of getting accepted into medical school, one of the hardest challenges that DACA students face is the financial aspect of attending medical school. Unlike U.S. citizens, DACA students are ineligible for federal financial aid including federal student loans. They are however eligible to receive private student loans which oftentimes tend to have higher interest rates. For example, the current interest rate for Grad PLUS loans is at 8%. Meanwhile, private student loans usually begin at 10% and go upwards of 16%, almost double that of federal student loans. There are also limited scholarships designated for non-citizen students. Below you can find a link to scholarships available to DACA students.
(See: Scholarships for Undocumented Students and DACA Recipients)
