<p>Just wondering…I’m Hispanic. My parents are Nicaraguan immigrants, both now US citizens. My mother never worked, doesn’t know english, and was never educated. My dad just recently graduated as an electric engineer from a local public college. Nevertheless, he makes a good salary, in the $90,000-$100,000 range, being an electric supervisor for the city. </p>
<p>The question is, is this going to hurt my chances? We may not be dirt poor, but there are three kids including me, and my dad worked very hard to get to where he is. He came to the US as a teenager by himself, was shoved from city to city because none of his relatives would take him in, and quit high school to get a job to bring his mother to America. He got his high paying job only because electricity is a rather high paid profession, and he has years and years of experience. We’re not one of those families that has money in our home country or that has been in the States for generations and thus ‘made it’ that way. We really do have very little.</p>
<p>So, what do you think? Is the aid going to be there or no? My parents don’t have enough to send me to a private college without aid.</p>
<p>I think you have a good shot at getting need & possibly merit depending on your stats- based aid- three kids to support and less than 6 figures is still defintely middle class not rich.
Hispanic students also are underrepresented in colleges, especially in areas outside Texas and CA, and I think many schools would see that the work ethic your father shows- if you are able to demonstrate it as well, as an asset to the school community</p>
<p>Need based financial aid is by the numbers. With a six figure salary, if you are the only child in college at the time, your parents would probably have to make a significant contribution although depending on the cost of school, you should get some aid. Do the EFC calculator on this site to see what will be expected. Most private schools will also take into account assets, so if your parents own a home or stocks, etc., that will also be counted.</p>
<p>To answer your questions, unfortunately the government does not look at individual circumstances, they simply look at numbers. Perhaps merit aid is the way for you to go. As a hispanic, many schools will be interested in you so you may not have to go to a school way below your stats to get such aid. Good luck!</p>