Dream Scholarship Fund 2008

The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC), Korean Resource Center (KRC), and YKASEC – Empowering the Korean American Community (YKASEC) are proud to announce the first year of the Dream Scholarship Fund. Launched on February 4, 2008, the Dream Scholarship Fund is founded by Korean American youth who have tirelessly campaigned the last five years for the passage of the DREAM Act – tailored legislation that would provide a path to legalization for eligible immigrant students who grew up in the United States.8 scholarships of $1,000 each will be awarded to financially needy students who face undue hardships: 2 scholarships will be given out to Illinois applicants, 2 for New York applicants, 2 for California applicants, and 2 for national scholarship applicants. Regional scholarship will be facilitated by NAKASEC affiliate centers: Korean American Resource & Cultural Center in Chicago, YKASEC – Empower the Korean American Community in New York, Korean Resource Center in Los Angeles, and NAKASEC will be coordinating applicants from states besides the three mentioned above.

Eligibility

• Identify as Asian Pacific Islander American
• Demonstrate financial need
• Currently is a senior at a U.S. high school. Or will be entering or currently attending a U.S. accredited college or university as a full-time, degree-seeking student
• Have demonstrated achievement in the arts, community service, sports, or other activities

Deadline and Application

All Applications must be postmarked by April 15, 2008.

Please email or mail your application to the appropriate organization, depending on your state of residence:

CALIFORINA
Korean Resource Center
900 S. Crenshaw Boulevard,Los Angeles, CA 90019
Yong Ho Kim at DSF@krcla.org

ILLINOIS
Korean American Resource & Cultural Center
2701A W. Peterson Avenue, Chicago, IL 60659
Eun Young Lee at eunyoung@chicagokrcc.org

NEW YORK
YKASEC – Empowering the Korean American Community
136-19 41st Avenue, 3rd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
Kevin Kang at kkang@ykasec.org

ALL OTHER STATES
National Korean American Service and Education Consortium
906 S. Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019
HyunJoo Lee at hlee@nakasec.org

Frequently Asked Questions

Note: Most questions are answered within the application itself. Please read the application carefully. For further questions, please contact the appropriate NAKASEC affiliate organization according to your state of residence.

Q: I will be using the scholarship for graduate/law/medical school. Can I apply?
A: Yes.

Q: What do you mean by “accredited college”?
A: When a college is “accredited,” it means that it has been reviewed and programs have been evaluated for quality. The accreditation is usually done by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the United States Department of Education (USDE). All public universities, community colleges and most private universities are accredited. Do not worry about whether or not your college or university is accredited or not – most likely they are and if there are any concerns we will contact you.

Q: How do I prove that I am Asian American or Pacific Islander?
A: You only need to identify yourself as Asian American or Pacific Islander.

Q. When are you going to announce the scholarship recipients?
A: Decisions will be made the last week of May, and you will be notified between June 2nd and June 6th of 2008.

Q: Do I have to send in my FAFSA and my parent’s tax returns?
A: Yes, only if you have your FAFSA and/or your parent’s tax returns. If you do not have your FAFSA or parent’s tax returns, just fill out the “Household Financial Information” worksheet in the application (page 4).

Q: I don’t know which college I want to go to. Do I have to send in the tuition information for all the colleges I got into?
A: No. Just choose one and send the tuition information for that college.

Q: Do I have to provide a copy of my SAT score?
A: Submitting your SAT score is optional.

Q: If I become the scholarship recipient, when will I receive the scholarship money?
A: Please consult with each individual center.

Q: Will the recipients’ list be made public?
A: We want to have some form of public announcement (press conference, awards ceremony, etc.) with the goal of encouraging next year’s applicants to apply, and ask the community to help fund the scholarship. Since the Dream Scholarship is supported by the community, we do the publicity in order to be transparent and accountable to those who helped fund the scholarship. However, we will respect your privacy and remove your name (or use a pseudonym) if you request it.

Contact

For more information, please contact according to region:

California Yong Ho Kim DSF@krcla.org
Illinois Eun Young Lee 773-506-9158 or eunyoung@chicagokrcc.org
New York Kevin Kang 718-460-5600 or kkang@ykasec.org
All Other States HyunJoo Lee at hlee@nakasec.org