TACHE CONFERENCE OFFERS SOLUTIONS TOWARD HIGHER EDUCATION ACCESS FOR HISPANICS
...o attend a four-year college than their well-funded peers. “If you had the money and you didn’t have the academic credentials, you were as likely to go to college as if you didn’t have the money and you were just acing every college prep you could think of,” Fraire said. In February 2001, the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance examined the plight of high school graduates from both low and moderate-income families. The report found that even if students from low-income families have the drive and the intelligence to attend college, many abandon those dreams because of unmet need. Unmet need refers to the portion of college expenses not covered by the Expected Family Contribution, which includes such options as student aid, work-study, and loans. According to the committee, the average unmet need for low-income families has reached $3,200 at two-year public colleges, $3,800 at four-year public colleges, and $6,200 at four-year private colleges. Another problem that low-income Hispanic families confront is the lack of information. Many Hispanics attending college are the first generation in their family to do so. Because of this, they have no one in their family to walk them through the application process, help them search for scholarship opportunities and apply for financial aid. Many Hispanic students are unaware that these options exist. “My family doesn’t make much money and didn’t have any firsthand experience with college, so I had to spend a lot of time searching for options. I had to rely on myself to get here. Luckily I have a lot of drive,” said Jerry Esquivel, an undeclared junior at the University of Texas in Austin. “So many people like myself give up not because they are la...