Latino Participation in Student Financial Aid

Latinos receive the lowest average amount of financial aid awarded—by type and source of aid—of any ethnic group. Given that the cost of postsecondary education is continually increasing and attaining a postsecondary education is more important than ever, Latino student participation in financial aid is critical.

There are four main ways to pay for a college education: grants, loans, work-study, and personal contributions. These four options are not mutually exclusive, and most Latino students use a combination to pay for their college education. While financial aid is available from non-federal sectors, approximately two-thirds of all student financial aid comes from federal programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

The following analysis reviews the participation of Latinos in financial aid at the undergraduate (full-time) as well as Latino graduate and professional levels.

Undergraduate Students

Latinos received the least financial aid ($5,999) of any ethnic group.

Sector: Latinos received the least federal aid ($4,644) and the least non-federal aid ($3,328) of any ethnic group.

Grants: Latinos received the smallest grant awards ($3,486) for their education of any ethnic group. Latinos received the smallest federal grants ($2,113) of any ethnic group, except whites, and received by far the smallest non-federal grants ($3,017) of any ethnic group.

Loans: Latinos received larger loans ($4,168) than African Americans ($4,070) or Asian/Pacific Islanders ($4,073).

Work-Study: Latinos received the lowest work-study awards ($1,152) of any ethnic group.

“Other aid”: Latinos received higher awards ($4,527) than African Americans ($4,147), but less than whites ($5,070) or Asian/Pacific Islanders ($5,364). This disparity is consistent in “other” federal aid ($6,047) and non-federal aid ($3,475).

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 1995-96 in Table 322 of Digest of Education Statistics, 1999.

Graduate and Professional Students

Among full-time master’s degree students, Latinos received less aid than other group. Only 65% of Latino students received any aid, compared to 76% of whites and 90% of African Americans. [NCES, Student Financing of Graduate and First-Professional Education, 1995-96, May, 1998 Table 2.3a]

Latinos studying for master’s degrees receive less grant aid and work more than either white or African American students. In 1995-96, only about 20% of Latino students received grants, compared to over 30% of both white and African American students. In tandem, 20% of Latinos received assistantships, compared to 10% of African Americans and 9% of whites. [NCES, Student Financing of Graduate and First-Professional Education, 1995-96, May, 1998 Table 2.3a]

Latino full-time master’s and first-professional degree students receive less aid than any other ethnic group. The average aid for Latino master’s degree students is only $8,729, compared to $13,875 for African Americans and
$12,566 for whites. For first-professional degree students, the average aid for Latinos is only $16,766, compared to $21,440 for African Americans, $18,182 for whites, and $18,416 for Asian/Pacific Islanders. [NCES, Student Financing of Graduate and First- Professional Education, 1995-96, May, 1998 Table 2.4]

Data Summary by: Deborah Santiago, HSF Institute Data and Research Advisor

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