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New reality confronts Latinos' college aspirations

The nation’s ongoing economic turbulence will further hinder many Latino students’ capacity to afford college by advancing the decline of their family’s…

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   First of two parts

   The nation’s ongoing economic turbulence will further hinder many Latino students’ capacity to afford college by advancing the decline of their family’s household income and diminishing student lending options.

   That’s the word of Antonio Flores, president and CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. 

    “The crisis is going to have a very detrimental effect on the ability of Latino families to pay for college. The impact can be very widespread and very long-lasting, depending on how long the economic crisis continues without light at the end of the tunnel,” pumping the word “very” all three times.

    It’s HACU’s mission to improve the quality of higher education institutions by making them more inclusive and accessible to Latino students.

   A study released in October  by the Higher Education Research Institute at University of California-Los Angeles’ Graduate School of Education and Information Studies covers household income of Latino students.

   Its research shows a growing discrepancy between household incomes of Latino and non-Latino students at four-year colleges and universities over the past 30 years. The income difference skyrocketed from $7,986 in 1975 to $32,965 in 2006.

   With the economy in shambles, the financial state of Hispanic students isn’t likely to get any better.

   A recent report by the Economic Policy Institute reveals that the Hispanic workforce is prone to face tougher financial challenges than other workers due to the downturn. This is largely because Latinos’ finances did not improve during the latest recovery period.  They were, not surprisingly, worse than when the recession began.

    “It’s disturbing that the Latino household income will continue to shrink as a result of the economic crisis,” says Flores.

   The economic status of the average Latino household fuels the financial aid dependency exhibited by many Hispanic college students.  Financial aid was a top priority when Latino freshman were considering a four-year college or university, according to the UCLA study.

   “About 82% of our Latino students do apply for financial aid,” says Raúl Lerma, financial aid director for University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP). “We have definitely seen more students asking for the maximum aid amount this year.”

   According to the UCLA report, 20% of Hispanic freshmen identified as a major problem their capacity to afford college. That contrasts to 8.6% of non-Hispanic freshman in 2006.

   Latinos make up about 75% of UTEP’s student body, according to Lerma.  This university is one of the lower-cost schools in the University of Texas system, charging about $2,900 in tuition fees for 15 undergraduate credit hours.

   The Pew Hispanic Center reveals that more than half of Latino college students are enrolled in Texas and California institutions.

   Next: College funding options are reduced.

   (Edwin Mora is a reporter with Hispanic Link News Service in Washington, D.C. E-mail: [email protected])

 

Economic necessity driving Latinos to community colleges:

   As the national economic turmoil expands, more Latinos are flocking to two-year institutions.

   “Latinos will continue to over-concentrate in community colleges so long the economic crisis continues on,” says Antonio Flores, president of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. According to HACU, 46% of Latino college students attend two-year institutions. This contrasts to 37% of all college students.

   “We estimate that enrollment at community colleges has risen approximately eight to ten percent for fall ’08,” says Norma Kent, vice president of communications for the American Association of Community Colleges. “We've had increases reported from one percent to almost 20 percent.”

   Cost of tuition in comparison to four-year institutions, according to Kent, is one of the main reasons for the increase.

 

Organizations where Latino college students can turn for help -

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities

8415 Datapoint Drive, Suite 400

San Antonio, TX 78229

(210) 692-3805 (voice)

(210) 692-0823 (fax)

E-mail: [email protected]

 

Hispanic College Fund

1301 K Street NW, Suite 450-A West

Washington, D.C. 20005

1-800-644-4223 (toll-free)

1-202-296-5400 (phone)

202-296-3774 (fax)

[email protected]

 

Hispanic Scholarship Fund

55 Second Street,  Suite 1500

San Francisco, CA 94105

1-877-HSF-INFO (1-877-473-4636)

Fax: 415-808-2302

http://www.hsf.net/

 

Meridaid.com – helps students get a fraction of the $11 billion available in merit- based scholarships

 

Federal Financial Aid

Processes more 14 million applications each year and disburses more than $80 billion annually in financial aid to students through schools.

Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) or 1-319-337-5665

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

 

Financialaidfinder.com – contains section for Latino students.

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