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FAIRFAX
--I am my mother's American dream. I was born in Fairfax Inova Hospital. I was educated in Fairfax County public schools, recited the Pledge of Allegiance well over 1,000 times, made honor roll in high school, received my driver's license at 16, registered to vote at 18, and eagerly awaited the moment when I could walk across Constitution Hall to receive my diploma, throw my cap into the air, and begin a highly anticipated chapter in my life: College.That was easier said than done.
My going to college was never a question. It was expected, and in my mother's mind and my mind, it was a certainty. Education could not have been more stressed in my home; my mother was the drive that helped me succeed in high school and the reason I was determined to strive for nothing but success in college. I carried with me her struggles of a difficult life
As a senior in high school, I had applied to various colleges. Although the idea of going far off on my own was appealing, I was in no financial position to attend an expensive, out-of-state school, so I looked to more affordable state schools.
In the spring of 2006, I was euphoric after finding out I was accepted to George Mason University. I wanted to live on campus and experience the full range of college life; however, because I would be paying for school on my own, I knew it was a wiser financial decision to live at home and try to get involved in extracurricular activities instead.
After registering for classes, I glanced at the final cost of tuition and was confused to see that I was being charged more than $9,000--three times as much as what I expected. Stunned, I figured it was a mistake. It made no sense that I was being charged over $9,000 to commute to a school less than nine miles away in a state
So I went to the Registrar's Office, which told me to reapply for in-state tuition. To my disbelief, I received out-of-state rates again.
Afterward, I spoke to an assistant at the Registrar's Office and, to my dismay, began to realize just how big of an unexpected role my parents' legal status would play in my chances for an education. I was told that because I had applied to school as a dependent student of an illegal immigrant, I could not receive in-state rates; the fact that my parents and I paid taxes was apparently irrelevant.
I received sympathy from those at the Domicile and Registrar's Office but no help. I was told they were not allowed to advise me in what steps I should take to better my situation. Reapplying as an independent student was the best advice they could give me.
I appealed as an independent student with little if any hope. That didn't work. My options, I felt, had been exhausted.
Because of my parents' situation, I didn't feel comfortable about continuing to push my case. I wasn't sure what would happen to them if I continued to make more noise. So, feeling that I had no choice, I paid the full out-of-state tuition in the hopes that as time went by other options would open up for me.
I slashed my plans for after-school activities and substituted it with work. With tuition and other expenses, I ended up paying nearly $20,000 for my one year of school. It was too much, and I couldn't go back the next year.
Instead, I planned to work for a year to save up for school and perhaps try to receive in-state by proving myself an independent student. The astonishment had been replaced with frustration. Reality had settled in with the sad truth that I and other American students were being forced to attend school at unfair rates simply because of our parents' legal status.
Jamilla Penarete, a 19-year-old American citizen, was recently informed by George Mason University that she is being reclassified as an in-state student and plans on attending this fall.
