Since November, I've been helping a few refugee college students I know with their summer STEM internship applications.

Despite the students' stellar records, resilience, and achievements, these applications could not have been harder. (THREAD on accessibility...1/n)

The fact that many programs/internships are unpaid and/or don't include a travel stipend has been discussed at length, but there are so many other barriers that folks who run these programs should know about. Here are three big ones:

(1) LETTERS OF REC: Some require 3(!) recommendation letters. One program disqualified a student b/c he needed a rec from a "pre-med advisor" but his 2-year community college doesn't have a pre-med program/major advisors. A STEM professor wrote his letter, but it was rejected.

Another student's profs wouldn't write a letter for students in an online class. Profs knew who she was & attested she was a strong student...just refused on principle. She's a freshman & didn't have an in-person prof to ask. I wrote her a letter; TBD if any programs accept it.

(2) ACCESS: Plenty of apps require official transcripts *just to apply* - and ordering those often costs money. Programs could easily require an unofficial transcript and then request an official transcript upon acceptance to the program. Why don't they?

Apps requiring a printed component are a major obstacle, especially during a pandemic. I printed a 20-pg application (+ required student headshot!) & mailed it to the student along with an extra stamped manila envelope she could use for submission.

Printing and mailing costs may not be prohibitively expensive for many, but they are for some!

One app had no option to save and return to the application later. For students w/ unreliable (or nonexistent) internet access at home (who, for example, fill out these apps standing outside a closed NYPL, borrowing the wifi) this feature is, to put it mildly, very frustrating.

(3) ELIGIBILITY: Refugees apply for green cards 1 year after arrival, but many programs only accept citizens or green card holders. This eliminates recently arrived refugees. Not to mention asylum seekers who are waiting for their determination (which can take 5 years or more).

A few programs explicitly accept DACA students in addition to permanent residents & citizens (which is great!) but almost none accept Special Immigrant Juveniles.

These issues + language barriers, lack of resources/assistance/awareness of programs, lack of connections, lack of sufficient ID, lack of internet access, lack of credit card to pay application fees, lack of funds to pay application fees...

...lack of time (all the students I worked with have jobs on top of being students to help support their families and cover school expenses since they're largely ineligible for scholarships - similar issues), lack of familiarity with the application process...

These issues are not exclusive to refugees and asylees. The bottom line is that many barriers prevent deserving students from having access to life-changing opportunities and internships that, frankly, are necessary for advanced education and medical school admission.

I urge the folks who run these programs: please try to be as inclusive as possible, please lean toward being understanding when students with extenuating circumstances reach out, and please consider these barriers when designing your applications.

My real takeaway from this application cycle is: the refugee students I work with are motivated like you wouldn't believe, and we are beyond lucky to have them.