Hispanic School Grants:The Hispanic population in the United States has been steadily increasing year after year, and is now the largest and fastest growing minority group in the country. In fact, around 15% of the total country’s population has some Hispanic roots.
Because of this, a lot of attention has been given to this demographic group, and this attention comes in the form of employment opportunities, educational opportunities, scholarships and grants.
Why Hispanic Grants?
The Hispanic population continues to grow and is expected to increase by 60% within the next ten years. They make up a huge percentage of the country’s work force, however, the census states that their educational level has not improved as much as their population rate.
Over 49% of the Latinos are still not fluent in English. Only 11% of the whole Hispanic population have finished college. Over half of the number have high school diplomas while 28% have finished only up to 9th grade. With that, most of them are usually stuck with low – paying, mediocre jobs. Because they make up a huge percentage of the work force, it is imperative to provide them with better work opportunities – and the key is by starting early and providing them with the means for higher education.
College education is a very powerful tool. A college degree widens a person’s job opportunities and is essential in order to land high paying jobs. This is basically the reason why educational grants are made available to Hispanics. Through these grants, college education does not have to be expensive, and Hispanics now have the chance to have better opportunities and better futures.
One unfortunate reality is that most Hispanics are more familiar with financial loans instead of grants. This does not only apply to getting money for educational purposes but also for the purpose of putting up small businesses or organizations. A lot of them usually have a hard time obtaining grants because they do not know where to go.
How Hispanics Can Get grants
There are different non – profit organizations that offer grants and scholarships to Hispanic students. The Hispanic Fund Institute and the Hispanic College Fund are the two largest non – profit organizations that provide funds for students. Organizations like these have different programs and have their own set of requirements. Of course, the applicant must be of Hispanic descent in order to be qualified. Other factors for eligibility include financial standing and academic performance.
One can also visit the HACU or the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. The members of this group include schools that have a huge Hispanic population. This association also offers scholarships and grants for Hispanic students who wish to attend schools that are members of this association.
Some business and organizations also offer grants and scholarship for minority students. Private individuals and businesses like Microsoft, McDonalds and Wal-Mart have scholarships for Hispanic students. Most companies have their own foundations, but some other businesses grant the money to other non – profit organizations or give the money directly to colleges and universities.
Depending on the grant or the scholarship, Hispanic students can get as much as $3000 of financial aid each year. Truly, Hispanic grants are a great medium in helping Hispanic students to obtain higher education and prepare them for a better and brighter future.