Financial Aid

As Latino representation in U.S. higher education grows, a reality check of institutional practices that support Latino students' access, persistence, and graduation is needed. This brief examines financial aid strategies aimed at increasing enrollment, academic success and degree completion at eight Texas Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) located along the U.S.-Mexico border serving low-income communities. These institutions rank among the top institutions, both statewide and nationally, in enrolling and graduating Latino students:

• Texas A&M International University
• The University of Texas at Brownsville
• The University of Texas at El Paso
• The University of Texas Pan American
• Laredo Community College
• Texas Southmost College
• El Paso County Community College District
• South Texas College

Understanding what influences Latino students' financial aid choices and which institutional practices are effective in enrolling, retaining, and graduating Latino students is directly relevant to other institutions that are only beginning to experience growth in the number of their non-traditional students. The findings of this brief are intended to inform the programs and services at institutions with growing Hispanic enrollment, as well as state and federal policymakers addressing the broader growth of Hispanic students throughout higher education.

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 August 10, 2005, by Excelencia in Education and the Institute for Higher Education Policy.

This report highlights the borrowing patterns of students who choose to enroll in college and provides suggestions about why certain students may not borrow, even when borrowing seems to be a logical choice.

Also available: Student Aversion to Borrowing Fact Sheet, by race and ethnicity.