When New Jersey debuted a new program last year offering college aid to immigrants living in the country illegally, it was unclear how many undocumented students would sign up.

After a year, advocates and state official say the program has been a success.

During the 2018-2019 academic year, 749 undocumented students were awarded $3.8 million in state financial aid to attend New Jersey colleges, according to new statistics released by the state Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.

The so-called “Dreamers” -- students brought to the U.S. illegally as children -- had previously been permitted to attend New Jersey state colleges paying in-state tuition. But they were forbidden to apply for state-funded financial aid programs.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law last year opening up state financial aid programs to undocumented immigrants, offering them the same state grants, scholarships and other aid used by U.S. citizens living in New Jersey.

At the time, Murphy brushed aside criticism from Republican lawmakers who argued taxpayers should not be funding the college education of immigrants living in the country illegally.

“I’d even invite any of those folks who have that attitude, beginning with our president, to come on into this room and allow me or any of us to say, ‘This is the United States of America,’” Murphy said at the May 2018 bill signing ceremony at Rutgers-Newark filled with “Dreamer” students.

Recent high school graduates and new students beginning college have until Sept. 15 to apply for the aid using New Jersey Alternative Financial Aid Application, which is designed for undocumented immigrants.

There is no cap on how many undocumented students can received aid. The state Legislature initially projected the new law would give aid to about 600 students at a cost of $5 million a year.

Undocumented students remain ineligible for federally-funded financial aid programs, including Pell Grants and federally-backed student loans.

The 749 undocumented students who received New Jersey-funded college aid during the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters enrolled in public and private colleges around the state.

Here are the schools they attended, ranked by the amount of financial aid awarded to undocumented students:

(Note: The number of awards listed is not the number of undocumented students attending each school. Some undocumented students received multiple financial aid awards each semester from state financial aid programs, including Tuition Aid Grants, NJ STARS scholarships, Education Opportunity Fund grants and County College Opportunity Grants.)

1. Rutgers University

Amount awarded: $1,346,974

Number of awards: 328

2. New Jersey Institute of Technology

Amount awarded: $273,610

Number of awards: 59

3. Saint Peter’s University

Amount awarded: $271,671

Number of awards: 45

4. Montclair State University

Amount awarded: $206,850

Number of awards: 63

5. Bergen Community College

Amount awarded: $135,532

Number of awards: 111

6. Passaic County Community College

Amount awarded: $127,869

Number of awards: 117

7. New Jersey City University

Amount awarded: $125,888

Number of awards: 42

8. Bloomfield College

Amount awarded: $123,866

Number of awards: 21

9. Essex County College

Amount awarded: $104,710

Number of awards: 99

10. Union County College

Amount awarded: $87,059

Number of awards: 69

11. Rowan University

Amount awarded: $74,771

Number of awards: 24

12. Kean University

Amount awarded: $74,648

Number of awards: 26

13. William Paterson University

Amount awarded: $62,360

Number of awards: 20

14. Raritan Valley Community College

Amount awarded: $60,051

Number of awards: 57

15. Seton Hall University

Amount awarded: $58,337

Number of awards: 13

16. Berkeley College

Amount awarded: $56,435

Number of awards: 11

17. Hudson County Community College

Amount awarded: $53,804

Number of awards: 47

18. Brookdale Community College

Amount awarded: $50,899

Number of awards: 43

19. Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan campus

Amount awarded: $48,462

Number of awards: 8

20. County College of Morris

Amount awarded: $44,824

Number of awards: 38

21. Atlantic Cape Community College

Amount awarded: $43,959

Number of awards: 48

22. College of New Jersey

Amount awarded: $40,845

Number of awards: 10

23. Middlesex County College

Amount awarded: $40,796

Number of awards: 39

24. Felician University

Amount awarded: $39,933

Number of awards: 9

25. Caldwell University

Amount awarded: $38,814

Number of awards: 6

26. Georgian County University

Amount awarded: $35,799

Number of awards: 6

27. Rider University

Amount awarded: $31,540

Number of awards: 6

28. Camden County College

Amount awarded: $31,425

Number of awards: 29

29. Ocean County College

Amount awarded: $30,723

Number of awards: 31

30. Fairleigh Dickinson University- Florham campus

Amount awarded: $30,700

Number of awards: 5

31. Mercer County Community College

Amount awarded: $30,205

Number of awards: 28

32. Cumberland County College

Amount awarded: $29,922

Number of awards: 31

33. Stockton University

Amount awarded: $14,586

Number of awards: 6

34. College of Saint Elizabeth

Amount awarded: $12,938

Number of awards: 2

35. Ramapo College

Amount awarded: $11,895

Number of awards: 4

36. Warren County Community College

Amount awarded: $10,996

Number of awards: 14

37. Monmouth University

Amount awarded: $10,970

Number of awards: 2

38. Rowan College at Burlington County

Amount awarded: $10,681

Number of awards: 13

39. Eastwick College- Hackensack

Amount awarded: $3,650

Number of awards: 1

40. Rowan College at Gloucester County

Amount awarded: $2,907

Number of awards: 3

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter@KellyHeyboer. Find her atKellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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