1. Perspectives of College Costs, Benefits, and Financial Aid Among California Latino Youth Harry P. Pachon, Ph.D. Maria Estela Zarate, Ph.D.

2. December 19, 2005 TRPI 2 Latino Youth Have Increasing Presence in California Source: American Community Survey 2004

3. December 19, 2005 TRPI 3 Objectives of Today’s Presentation Using preliminary data we will capture Perceptions of:  Actual College Costs  Costs vs. Benefits of attending College  Opportunity Costs and Hardships associated with College  Accessibility of Financial Aid Instruments

4. December 19, 2005 TRPI 4 Sample Overview of Preliminary Results Telephone Survey of Latino youth in California Ages 18-24 N=400* 83% U.S. Born 72% had parents born outside the U.S. 79% Completed High School Median Household Income = $25,000 - $35,000 Sample weight= 50% male, 75% respondents not in college * Unless otherwise specified, results are for all respondents.

5. December 19, 2005 TRPI 5 Perceptions of Cost 1 in 6 respondents accurately estimated the costs of attending a UC campus, 1 in 7 accurately estimated costs of attending CSU, most estimated much higher costs 68% of the respondents believe few families and students can afford to pay for college but 89% think it is common for college students to receive financial aid

6. December 19, 2005 TRPI 6 Sources Financial Aid: Where is the Aid? Only 1:4 respondents mentioned scholarships as a source of financial aid Only 1:5 respondents mentioned loans as a source of financial aid Only 4:100 respondents mentioned work- study as a source of financial aid

7. December 19, 2005 TRPI 7 (Mis)Perceptions of Access to Financial Aid % who said PARENTS need to be U.S. citizens in order for students to receive financial aid % who believe STUDENTS need to be U.S. citizens to receive financial aid

8. December 19, 2005 TRPI 8 Sources of Loans: Where would you go to get a loan for college? a commercial bank the federal government do NOT know colleges and universities

9. December 19, 2005 TRPI 9 The Cost of Incurring Debt for College 2:5 would take a student loan to finance college if they qualified 1:3 felt their parents would take a loan to pay for college if they qualified  1:4 reported their parents would take out a student loan depending on their grades or choice of major 1:6 college students use loans to help finance their college education

10. December 19, 2005 TRPI 10 Familiarity with Grants % that heard of CAL Grants* % that heard of Pell Grants* % that know how to apply/qualify for Pell or CAL Grant* % of college students that applied for a CAL Grant * Refers to all respondents

11. December 19, 2005 TRPI 11 Financial Reasons for Not Attending College 75% of those not in college cited financial aid as a factor in their decision not to attend college 90% of working youth not in college contribute their earnings to the household  82% would need to contribute to the household even if they were in college

12. December 19, 2005 TRPI 12 The Reality of Financing College 2 of 3 college students said financial aid played an important factor in deciding which college to attend 1 of 5 college students had no idea how they were going to pay for college when they applied to college 2 of 3 college students are currently working and 76% of them contribute their earnings to the household

13. December 19, 2005 TRPI 13 The FAFSA Experience for College Students % who thought the form was difficult to fill out % whose parents have filled out the form % who neither they nor their parents have ever filled out the form

14. December 19, 2005 TRPI 14 Costs and Benefits of College 2 of 3 students believe the benefits of attending college outweigh the costs The most frequently cited benefits of college education:  Having a job I like  To earn more money The most frequently cited cost of college  Not being able to work  Incurring too much debt 41% believe Latinos without a college degree can get better jobs than Latinas without a college degree

15. www.trpi.org