For an illegal immigrant, getting into UCLA was the easy part

A San Pedro girl's undocumented status means no financial aid. Money is tight, classes are tough, and just getting to campus takes 2 1/2 hours.

De La Cruz faces fairy tale odds. She's an illegal immigrant, so she isn't eligible for most forms of state and federal financial aid. The University of California system, by policy, does not require applicants to disclose their citizenship status: Officials say their goal is to find the best students, not to enforce immigration law. UCLA officials say they aren't even sure how many undocumented students are on their campus.

The 18-year-old De La ... Full Story »

Posted by Dale Penn

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Review

Stephanie Savell
3.6
by Stephanie Savell - Feb. 2, 2009

This interesting profile of an illegal immigrant attending college does a great job showing the almost insurmountable obstacles to her success -- a story that exemplifies enterprising journalism because these kinds of obstacles to higher education are rarely brought to public view.

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Stephanie's Rating

Overall
3.6

Good
from 11 answers
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3.6
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4.0
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4.0
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4.0
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2.0
Style
4.0
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3.0
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3.0
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5.0
Popularity
3.5
Recommendation
4.0
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3.0
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