Hispanic
financial aid trends not noticeable
at CSULB
By Kyle Cavaness
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Federal aid for Hispanics has proven to be lacking on a national level but evidence
from home does not seem to be cause for alarm.
A study done by Excelencia for Education, in association with the Institute for
Higher Education Policy, revealed that Hispanic students received the least federal
financial aid of the 2003-04 school year. Out of the 80 percent of Hispanic undergraduate
students who applied for financial aid, only 63 percent received it. Also, the
monetary national average for financial aid for Hispanics was lower than the
overall average by over $600, with $6,250 for Hispanics and $6,890 being the
national average.
Lower numbers of federal aid for Hispanics are not a new occurrence. These results
continue a pattern that has remained the same since the 1995-96 school year.
Still, both school officials and further research said these numbers are not
as malicious as they may seem.
According to the Excelencia study, even though the average payouts for undergraduates
are lower, Latinos were more likely to collect federal aid (50 percent) than
the combined average of all racial/ethnic groups (46 percent) in 2003-2004. African-American
students were the only group more likely to receive federal aid, at 62 percent.
The study also showed that Hispanic undergraduates face additional challenges
to federal aid. Latinos are twice as likely than all undergraduates to be resident
aliens, and only 85 percent are American citizens, compared to a 93 percent national
average.
Most students are familiar with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA); it has become a ritual for anyone who considers financial aid as an
option for paying for school.
However, students do not have to give one important piece of personal information
on the application—their ethnicity.
Financial aid from the government is required to be color blind; not just on
the federal level, but on state and institutional levels as well. Dean Kulju,
director of Financial Aid for CSULB, said “No financial aid is based on
ethnicity [at CSULB], it’s based on qualifications and need.”
Once a student has applied for financial aid, the school works with aid both
from the government and outside sources, if students have any.
According to Kulju, CSULB takes its lead from the FAFSA to create the best package
possible for its students—and ethnicity never factors into the equation.
Students also generally do not consider race to be a factor in the school’s
decision to provide financial aid.
“
The thought never even crossed my mind,” said Dylana Foy, a half-Latino
public relations major at CSULB.
The Excelencia study provides ways for the government to better serve Hispanic
students.
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