July 8, 2026

 

The Partner College Weekly

 

ACTION REQUIRED

Summer Partner College Housekeeping: 
3 Action Items, EXTENDED DEADLINE: JULY 30, 2026

The majority of our Partner Colleges have completed at least 1 of the 3 PC Housekeeping action items.


We are extending the deadline to complete all 3 requests to July 30.


To check your Partner College's completion status, review our live tracker.


1. Annual PC Directory Updates

All campus Primary Relationship Managers (PRMs) were emailed a personalized link to review and make edits to your TheDream.US campus team directory. For instructions on how to complete the form, watch this short video. 


Questions: Chris.Aviles@thedream.us


2. Graduate Verification Report (GVR),

Partner Colleges must review Ineligible Scholars for whom we do not currently have a graduation record and provide any available graduation updates.


To complete the GVR, review each Scholar listed and enter their current status: Enrolled, Leave of Absence, Withdrawn, or Graduated. If a Scholar has graduated, please also provide their degree, graduation date, and major.


The report can be found in the ISTS PC Portal. Once completed, upload the file to the ISTS File Sharing site by following these steps: 

  1. Click GVR Upload
  2. Click on the green "Add Files" button
  3. Upload the GVR
  4. Click on either of the blue "Start" buttons


If you receive an error message, please correct the file and re-upload it. If you do not receive an error message, your upload was successful. You can check your completion status in the summer housekeeping tracker the next business day.


Questions: Vernisa.Donaldson@thedream.us


3. Partner College Survey

This brief survey is an opportunity to share feedback about how partnership processes are working on your campus.


The survey was sent to PRMs, Scholar Advisors, Financial Aid Advisors, and EVR contacts from TheDream.US@qualtrics-survey.com with the subject line “TheDream.US 2026 Partner College Survey is Live!”. PRMs should ensure that all members of the campus support team who received the survey complete.


Questions: Vernisa.Donaldson@thedream.us

Now Accepting Summer Term EVRs!

The Partner Colleges on this list can begin submitting Summer term EVRs once terms have started and classes are set. Note: Newly Awarded Scholars at these Partner Colleges are eligible for Summer funds if they have been fully admitted, and can be included in this EVR.


The deadline to submit the Summer EVR is July 31, 2026. We encourage you to submit as early as possible to avoid any last-minute issues!


To check your Summer EVR Status, please click here.


Please make sure to read all the way through the EVR instructions to get a refresher on the process. This resource can be found in the Program Management section of our website.

MUST KNOW

Special Announcement: 
PC Career Events Fund - Summer Career Series Screenings

Your college can get up to a $2,000 grant to host a screening of our biggest career event of the year: the 2026 Summer Career Series!  

 

No programming needed, we got you. We are offering Partner Colleges the opportunity to bring your Scholars on campus to host a screening of TheDream.US Summer Career Series. Your college can host either one or both days of this event. TheDream.US PC Career Events Fund may be used to cover food, tech equipment, and other needed items to host this event on your campus. 

 

Since both days will have breakout rooms, we suggest Scholars bring their laptops and earphones to participate in the breakout sessions, while still on your campus. 

 

We are extending the deadline to apply for this grant to Wednesday, July 22. The sooner you submit, the sooner we can process payments in time for the event.


Questions: Chris.Aviles@thedream.us


New Scholars Eligible for Special, One-time $500 Grant this Fall 2026!

This week we will be announcing the special $500 Grant to the 2026-2027 New Scholars. To receive the Fall grant, they must meet all 4 of the following mandatory requirements: 

 

  1. Complete their Scholar Commitment Form by August 6
  2. Complete their Acknowledgement Form by August 6  
  3. Complete their Initial Immigration Screening Form by August 6
  4. Enroll in and attend classes this Fall 2026

 

New Scholars can check the completion of the items above via the “Your Commitments Hub” on their ISTS Scholar Portal.

 

We will have an update for you in the next two weeks on how to track which Current and New Scholars have completed their required steps.


Questions: Chris.Aviles@thedream.us

Renewals 2026

The Renewal review begins this week for the Scholarships Team. 


We’ll have an update for you regarding Renewal decisions in 2 weeks. 


Questions: Yajaira.Gonzalez@thedream.us


2026 – 2027 New Scholar Swag

Thank you for confirming your mailing address to receive New Scholar swag! Our vendor has received the information and is sorting and packaging your materials. With hundreds of items to pack and ship, this will take a few weeks. 


We anticipate shipments going out next week, July 13, 2026 and will email everyone their individual tracking information as it is made available. 

 

Questions: Chris.Aviles@thedream.us

SCHOLAR PROGRAMMING

2026-2027 New Scholar Onboarding

Next Tuesday, July 14, we will send all 2026-2027 New Scholars the fifth and final Scholarship Onboarding email: Mandatory New Scholar Welcome Event – Celebrating You!

 

This email officially invites our New Scholars to register for our required nation-wide, virtual welcome event. Scholars will be able to submit photos and quotes about what receiving TheDream.US Scholarship means to them, which we will include in our slideshow during the event. The email also reminds New Scholars to register for our Summer Career Series, which is mandatory for New Scholars. 


All emails will continue to be posted to our New Scholar Central.


Questions: Chris.Aviles@thedream.us

Summer Career Series – Join us for our Biggest Career Event of the Year! 

TheDream.US’ Summer Career Series returns on Thursday, July 30 and Friday, July 31 from 3 pm-6 pm ET. This FREE virtual conference is designed to help undocumented students and alumni explore career opportunities, connect with professionals, and learn strategies for building successful careers and businesses.


THURSDAY, JULY 30:

  • 3 pm - 4:30 pm ET: Paid Internships and Fellowships for Undocumented Students
  • 4:45 pm – 5:45 pm ET: Career Pathways for Undocumented Students


FRIDAY, JULY 31 SCHEDULE: 

  • 3 pm - 3:50 pm ET: Just Getting Started – How to Launch Your Own Business 
  • 4 pm - 4:50 pm ET: How to Find and Build Your Client Base 
  • 5 pm - 6:00 pm ET: Meet & Mingle: Immigrant Entrepreneurs


View the full schedule and session descriptions here. 


Please encourage all Scholars and Alumni to attend this career conference! All undocumented students/alumni at our Partner Colleges, along with PC staff, are also welcome to attend! Registration is required – RSVP today!

TheDream.US Graduate Loan Scholarship Now Open!

TheDream.US Graduate Loan Scholarship Program is now open! These funds are available to any TheDream.US Alumni with or without DACA or TPS, taking out a private graduate school loan for the 2026-2027 academic year. This scholarship is designed to help lessen Alumni’s loan debt and the amount that needs to be paid back once they complete their graduate studies.  


The private loans can be from any company including the Dreamers Graduate Loan Program, Discover, Ascend, Self-Help, etc. The deadline for this year’s graduate loan scholarship is August 31, 2026 at 11:59 pm PT.  


For more information on this program, visit our Graduate Resources Page.  Alumni can apply through their ISTS Scholar Portal (program key: Dreamgraduate).  


Questions? Chris.Aviles@thedream.us

USCIS Application Fee Loans

Through our partnership with Mission Asset Fund (MAF), TheDream.US is providing zero interest, zero fee loans to help Scholars/Alum pay their USCIS application fee for a variety of change of status requests. They can request an USCIS Application Fee Loan for green cards, citizenship, family petition, DACA, TPS, and more. These loans are available to our Scholars and Alum nationwide. 


Scholars and Alum only pay back exactly what they borrow within a ten-month span, while also building their credit. Check out the details of the program on MAF’s website.  

  

Questions? Chris.Aviles@thedream.us


1-1 Immigration Screenings for Current Scholars

Screenings are designed to help your Scholars understand their immigration status and any options available for adjustment. Now more than ever, it is important for your Scholars to have access to an immigration attorney they can trust. Screenings are free, confidential and will not affect their scholarship in any way.


We need your help to encourage Scholars to sign up by completing the Initial Screening Request Form. If they have already completed one of our screenings, they should not submit a new request. 

 

Questions: Chris.Aviles@thedream.us

IN THE NEWS

Gaby Pacheco Commentary: Banning Dreamers from Florida Colleges is Cruel and Undemocratic

On July 4th, The Orlando Sentinel published TheDream.US President and CEO, Gaby Pacheco’s opinion piece explaining why proposed efforts to ban Dreamers from Florida’s public colleges and universities would have lasting consequences for students, communities, and Florida’s future.


Read more here.

What are Dreamers' Hope and Dreams for Living in America?

Last week, ahead of July 4th, we released one-of-a-kind findings about how thousands of Dreamers responded to the open-ended question, “what are your hopes and dreams for living in America.


The findings serve as the first installment of the new TheDream.US data and storytelling series, “The Frequency: The Pulse of America’s Dreamers,” which will feature ongoing findings and key insights from the nation’s largest and most comprehensive dataset on Dreamers in America.


Read more here.

EMAILS TO SCHOLARS

For Partner College Directory and Staff changes, please submit updates via our One-Off Update Form. 


For all emails sent to Scholars, go here


For Past PC Weeklys, go here


For Calendar of Events, go here

For all your questions, please refer to our TheDream.US Inquiry Map

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