DACA 'Dreamer' From Fairfax To Start Fall Semester At Harvard

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Even though Umaar Ehsan hasn't raised all the money he needs to pay for graduate school at Harvard University, he plans to be in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the start of the fall semester.

"While I have not reached the total amount necessary to attend the entire school year, I am close to having enough to start this fall semester," Ehsan said, in an email to Patch. "I will be enrolling in the payment plan and working while attending graduate school. As far as spring semester is concerned, I’ll do my best to sign up for scholarships and other programs while in Cambridge."

Last December, Ehsan received a bachelor's of science degree in industrial labor relations from Cornell University. He financed his education there with the help of scholarship money and his own savings. His family also chipped in and Cornell charged him a lower tuition based on his financial need.

After graduating from Cornell, Ehsan applied for Harvard's Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology (LDIT) program, which is an accelerated, one-year master's level course. His goal is to pursue a career that would involve learning-based and user-experience design in order to build better, more intuitive software and artificial intelligence.

Unfortunately, the $75,000 tuition for the one-year program is pretty steep, especially for Ehsan, who is a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient, sometimes referred to as a "DREAMer."

Ehsan was born in Jhelum, Pakistan, and moved to the United States with his family as a child. He grew up attending American schools, graduating from both Justice High School in Falls Church and Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale.

As a DACA recipient, Ehsan can't rely on the same financial supports available for U.S. students.

"I don't have the same opportunities that my counterparts do," Ehsan told Patch in July. "I'm American in every sense of the word, except for this fact that I don't have a piece of paper that says I am."

Ehsan launched a GoFundMe campaign a month ago to help raise tuition money. As of 10:30 a.m., Friday, he'd only raised about $15,000 toward his $75,000 goal.

With the fall semester payment due on Sunday, Ehsan said he was working extra hours to earn more money and living with a friend in the Boston area to cut down on expenses.

"I am confident that I gave my all and left no stone unturned during fundraising," he said, in his email. "I’ve reached out to hundreds of media people, politicians, non-profits, affinity groups, private donors, etc."

Donations to help finance Umaar Ehsan's graduate degree can be made on his GoFundMe page.

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.