ABSTRACT
In a period of rising higher education costs, coupled with a steady decline in public support for postsecondary institutions, the burden of financing postsecondary education is being transferred to students and their families (Santos & Sáenz, 2013). These increasing costs exacerbate the financial obstacle of paying for postsecondary education, particularly for low-income students who are more responsive to changes in cost of attendance (Paulsen & St. John, 2002), as well as for Latino high school students as they are most sensitive to changes in tuition (Swail, Cabrera, Lee, & Williams, 2005). While financial aid is intended to help with college-related expenses, multiple factors such as a lack of information (Zarate & Fabienke, 2007) and an aversion to acquiring debt (McDonough & Calderone, 2006) influence Latino high school students’ likelihood of benefiting from aid.
