Immigrant and Refugee Students

Westchester Community College is open to all students, regardless of immigration status or nationality. Immigration status MAY affect the tuition rate that students pay. See www.sunywcc.edu/residency for details.

Admissions

Immigrant and refugee students should submit their application for admission directly through the Admissions Office: http://www.sunywcc.edu/apply

Foreign High School Diplomas

Students who graduated from high school in another country may submit their foreign high school diploma or final high school official transcript to the Admissions Office in order to demonstrate proof of high school graduation. Acceptable foreign high school diplomas/final official transcripts will satisfy the College’s high school graduation requirement. If the language of the diploma/transcript is not English, an official English-language translation of the document is required as well.

Foreign College Credits

For information on transferring foreign college/university credits into Westchester Community College, please visit: /admissions/international-transfers/foreign-credit-evaluation/

Financial Assistance

Eligible students are encouraged to apply for federal and state financial aid; please visit www.sunywcc.edu/finaid for more information. Federal financial aid is open to U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens only; for a list of eligible non-citizen categories, please see Eligibility for Non-U.S. Citizens | Federal Student Aid. New York State financial aid is open to U.S. citizens, eligible non-citizens, and undocumented or out of status students who meet the eligibility requirements of the Senator José Peralta New York State DREAM Act; for more information, please visit https://www.hesc.ny.gov/. For specific questions about financial aid, please contact the College’s Financial Aid Office by requesting a call back at www.sunywcc.edu/sfa or by email at finaid@sunywcc.edu.

Scholarships

The Westchester Community College Foundation awards scholarships to new, continuing, and graduating students. Many Foundation Scholarships are open to all students, regardless of immigration status. To be considered for College Scholarships, U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents will need to complete the FAFSA and TAP applications (no separate scholarship application needed). Undocumented students who qualify will need to complete the New York State Dream Act application (no separate scholarship application needed). All student who are NOT eligible to apply for FAFSA, TAP, or the NYS Dream Act may apply for scholarships by completing the separate ‘International Student’ scholarship application at www.sunywcc.edu/finaid (click on the ‘Scholarships’ tab).

Undocumented Students

For information and policies regarding undocumented students and the SUNY system, please see:
https://www.suny.edu/attend/get-started/undocumented/

Under New York State Law SB7784, undocumented students are eligible to pay the resident tuition rate if they fall into one of the two following categories:

They attended an approved New York State high school for at least two years, graduated from an approved New York State high school, and applied for attendance at a SUNY or CUNY college within five years of receiving a New York State high school diploma, or
They attended an approved New York State program for high school equivalency (GED) preparation, received a high school equivalency diploma (GED) issued within New York State, and applied for attendance at a SUNY or CUNY college within five years of receiving the high school equivalency diploma (GED).

To benefit from New York State Law SB7784, students must have their original high school equivalency diploma (GED) with score sheet or their original High School Diploma AND original High School transcript submitted to the Admissions Office. Once a student has already submitted these documents to Admissions, he or she must go to the Bursar’s Office to receive an affidavit that must be notarized and returned to the Bursar’s Office. Once the affidavit is returned (signed and notarized), the student’s tuition will be adjusted.

Undocumented and out of status students who meet the eligibility requirements for the Senator José Peralta New York State DREAM Act may apply for New York State Financial Aid; for more information, please visit https://www.hesc.ny.gov/.

English as a Second Language

Information on the College’s English as a Second Language (ESL) Program, along with a current schedule of classes, can be found at www.sunywcc.edu/esl The English Language Institute also offers a free English language evaluation to non-native speakers of English who are considering studying at the College and want to know if their level of English is appropriate- please call (914)606-6656 for information.

Citizenship Exam Preparation

U.S. Citizenship Exam Preparation classes are offered for those applying for U.S. Citizenship, and the College hosts periodic on-campus U.S. Citizenship application assistance days – please contact (914)606-5626 for details on Citizenship offerings.

International (F-1) Student Information

For prospective students interested in applying to be an international (F-1) student at Westchester Community College, please visit /admissions/international-transfers/ or call the Office of International Students at 914-606-5660.

Questions?

For further information, please contact the College’s Welcome Center at (914)606-5600