National Hispanic Scholar

Marian
Fri, 29 May 2009 07:09:56 +0000

It means more than the honor itself. Colleges want to attract top Hispanic students. You may be a candidate for merit scholarship money (or at least a need-based aid package that isn’t dominated by loans) higher up the academic food chain than a white or Asian student with similar credentials would be.

I’m no great fan of affirmative action in terms of admissions. I think it leads to too many students getting into colleges for which they are underqualified and then struggling when they get there. But affirmative action in terms of money is an entirely different matter. If you can exploit your official status as a National Hispanic Scholar or your unofficial status as one of the nation’s top Hispanic students to attract merit scholarship money at a school where your credentials would put you in the middle of the academic pack, go for it.