Take Advantage of Millions in Financial Aid that Go Unclaimed at Community Colleges

You're still in time to avoid being part of the large number of Latino students who fail to enter college because they did not apply for financial aid, partly due to a lack of a basic understanding of the process. Low and moderate-income students lack the advice that could bring them into the U.S. workforce. Even though they are eligible for need-based federal financial aid, these students are the least likely to apply for funds.

Latinos could have greater access to these funds, especially since more than half (55 percent) of Hispanic undergraduate college students go to community colleges, according to a 2008 College Board Report from the National Commission on Community Colleges. A report created by Excelencia in Education called "How Latino Students Pay for College: Patterns of Financial Aid," published in 2005, states that Latinos receive less financial aid rewards than other ethnic groups, and less than whites.