Report: Student Immigrants of Color Get Less Financial Aid Than They Need
Credit: Hill Street Studios / DigitalVision / Getty Images- Black immigrants and descendants of immigrants faced the largest unmet need among white, Hispanic and Latino/a, and Asian demographics.
- First-generation Black immigrant students face $9,106 in unmet need, and descendants of Black immigrants who’ve been in the country three generations or more face almost the same need.
- By comparison, white immigrants had $3,442 in unmet need, and third-generation or higher white students were able to fully afford college with $805 to spare.
- The Institute for Higher Education Policy suggests doubling the Pell Grant and funding first-dollar free college programs to increase college affordability.
According to a new report, finances are still a barrier to college for immigrants and descendants of immigrants — especially immigrants of color.
The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) report, released Oct. 11, found that college affordability doesn’t just intersect with race and ethnicity but immigrant background as well.
According to the analysis of the U.S. Department of Education data, immigrants of color — primarily Black immigrants — face high, unmet financial need.
The average cost of college has more than tripled over the last 58 years. And federal and state governments have provided prospective students with grants and scholarships to ease the financial burden of college based on their family’s income and assets.
According to IHEP, immigrants of color aren’t receiving the aid they need to go to college.
“Policymakers and researchers should consider what additional practices would best serve students who face systemic barriers in college access at the intersection of immigrant generational status, race, and ethnicity,” the study says.
“Policies that increase financial aid for students from low-income backgrounds, such as doubling the Pell Grant and funding first-dollar free college programs, are positive steps to increase college affordability for all students.”
IHEP found that first-generation immigrants face the largest unmet need at 82%, with unmet needs slowly declining as the lineage goes on. However, Black immigrant students face the highest unmet need at $9,106, and it didn’t decrease by much for Black students whose families have been in the U.S. for three generations or more.
Conversely, the unmet need for Hispanic or Latino/a immigrants decreased from $6,574 to $5,375 for third-generation or higher students. First-generation white immigrants had $3,442 in unmet need. Third-generation or higher white students were able to fully afford college with $805 to spare, according to the report.
In 2019-20, immigrants and their descendants made up 34% of the college population, with 11% of students identifying as immigrants and 23% having one or both parents born outside the country, IHEP found.
According to IHEP, these students can face disproportionate poverty, trouble enrolling in federal financial aid, systemic racism, and K-12 funding disparities. Depending on documentation status, some may not be able to qualify for on-campus jobs.
Undocumented students can qualify for state financial aid in some states, and free tuition in New York, New Jersey, and California since they cannot qualify for federal financial aid.
A Year of Affordability Barriers Based on Documentation Status
Undocumented students and students of undocumented parents have had several roadblocks to higher education this year.
Students who could qualify for financial aid this year but have undocumented or noncitizen parents ran into an error with the new Simplified 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
These students were unable to complete the FAFSA form due to an issue where parents without Social Security numbers received an error message saying, “unauthorized to act on behalf of the student since they already have a 24-25 FAFSA form,” even if the student hasn’t started the form yet.
In California, undocumented students were close to qualifying to work on-campus jobs at its public universities until Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill, fearing potential consequences for state employees.
A new study by the University of California (UC) Civil Rights Project at UCLA and UC Davis School of Law found a decline in undocumented students at the state’s universities.
The University of California and the California State University saw similar declines in DREAM Act financial aid recipients. The researchers identified difficulties in gaining employment and other benefits, making college less affordable and accessible.