Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine has become the first medical school in the country to welcome applications from qualified undocumented students. The university removed 'legal residency' as an admission requirement for applicants starting last fall and plans to offer finance through a state agency.
Dean Dr. Linda Brubaker and Mark Kuczewski, director of the school's Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics, agreed to offer admission to undocumented immigrants after President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was established, June 2012, allowing students, who came to the U.S. as young children, to temporarily live and work legally in the country for a two-year period.
"We didn't feel it was right to turn away these young people anymore," Brubaker said. "If a Jesuit Catholic school doesn't do something like this, who would?"
In order to be eligible for DACA status, the students must have arrived in the U.S. before age 16, current age under 31, should have specified levels of education or military service and should not have a criminal or a misdemeanours record.
Kuczewski said that about 100 inquiries have been made in the last six months in connection with the changes in the admission procedure. The university is hoping that they will receive additional 10,000 applications annually.
The university feels that the allowing undocumented student to be part of its program is likely to attract donors who support immigration issues. It will lead to the supply of more doctors to the country and an opportunity presented for aspiring doctors to fulfil their dreams. Currently, the U.S. is experiencing a significant scarcity of physicians.
"A door that was closed is now open," Cabrera said.
Next month, the Illinois Finance Authority is set to announce its verdict on a policy that would allow them to provide loans to undocumented students enrolling at any of the state's medical or dental schools. The students are not entitled to receive federal financial aid to pay for Loyola's $200,000 in tuition and fees for the three-year program.
Geoffrey Young, senior director of student affairs and programs at the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington said that private schools such as Loyola exercise more flexibility in granting admission to undocumented immigrants than public universities.
"They'll all be M.D.s, but whether or not they can practice legally in states is to be determined," Mr. Young said. "One must think about what happens downstream."
A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said that the state forbids its regulators from asking medical license applicants their residential status.
