Alma Alvarado was home alone when she found out she got into UCLA. She was living in a small apartment in Planada, California, just outside Merced. She was often there by herself, because her older brother, the only other member of her household, worked long hours. On this day, she sat alone at home again, and opened her laptop with her heart in her throat. Read more...

Photo: Alma Alvarado is one of about 450 undocumented students attending UCLA. She is a third-year Spanish and anthropology student and a member of Improving Dreams, Equality, Access and Success. (Photo by Angie Wang)

Reporter Natalie Delgadillo, opinion columnist Ryan Nelson and photojournalist Angie Wang spent eleven months piecing together the full picture of what it means to be an undocumented student in the United States, from California, where policies are comparatively lenient, to Georgia, where students are subject to some of the harshest higher education policies in the country. Read more...