WASHINGTON
Although the percentage of Latino students receiving financial aid for college is at an all-time high, Latinos receive the lowest average federal aid awards of any racial or ethnic group, according to a new report released by Excelencia in Education and the Institute for Higher Education Policy.

According to the report, “How Latino Students Pay for College,” Latino students received an average financial aid award of $6,250 in 2003-2004. Asian students received the highest average award of $7,260 and the national average award was $6,890. The study, the first of its kind to disaggregate participation rates for Latino students in financial aid programs, found that while Latino participation has increased in the last decade, the disparity in average amounts received has remained unchanged since 1995-1996.

“Financial aid is critical for all students, but more so for the Latino community, given the percentage of which come from modest financial backgrounds,” says Sarita E. Brown, president of Excelencia. “This report dispels the myth that Hispanic students are getting a free ride.”
“We know that Latino students are not entering and completing college at rates similar to other groups,” says Jamie P. Merisotis, president of IHEP. “Addressing economic disparities is one of the biggest steps we can take to improve success rates for the Hispanic community.”

Latino students rely heavily on federal aid and on grants in particular, according to the report, given that they are more likely to be first-generation college students (49 percent) and to have relatively low family incomes. Nearly 80 percent of Latino undergraduates applied for aid, about 63 percent of whom received some form of aid in 2003-2004. And while Latinos were more likely to receive federal aid (50 percent) than all groups except African-Americans (62 percent), Latinos received the lowest average federal awards. Only 16 percent of Latinos received state aid, and 17 percent received aid from postsecondary institutions.