How Do First-Generation Latinx Students at an HSI Community College Navigate Financial Aid Barriers?
Date of Degree
2025
Degree Name
Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)
Department
Department of Counseling and Higher Education (CAHE)
Director
Nyunt, Gudrun
Committee Members
Mac, Jacqueline; Hutchins, Quortne
Keywords
HSI, Latinx, Financial Aid, Community College, First-generation, Financial aid barriers, Community Cultural Wealth, LatCrit (Latinx Critical Race Theory), Qualitative case study, Participant artifacts
Abstract
ABSTRACT
HOW DO FIRST-GENERATION LATINX STUDENTS AT AN HIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE NAVIGATE FINANCIAL AID BARRIERS?
Gema M. Mariscal, Ed.D.
Department of Counseling and Higher Education
Northern Illinois University, 2025
Gudrun Nyunt, Director
This dissertation looks at how first-generation Latinx students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) community college navigate financial aid barriers. While there has been plenty of research on HSIs around enrollment and persistence, much less has been said about the daily struggles students face with financial aid; the forms, the systems, and the policies that often feel overwhelming. Guided by critical race theory (CRT), Latino critical theory (LatCrit), and Yosso’s community cultural wealth (CCW) framework, this study centers the voices of students and highlight their strengths, resilience, and agency.
Thirteen first-generation Latinx students were interviewed who shared their experiences with financial aid. Each student also brought in an artifact that represented their journey, adding another layer to their stories. From these conversations, themes emerged around the barriers they faced, such as lack of family knowledge about financial aid, confusing processes, language barriers, and the added pressure of undocumented or mixed-status family situations. Even with these challenges, students found ways to push through. They leaned on navigational, familial, and resistant capital, showing persistence and determination to keep moving toward their goals.
The findings remind us that financial aid is not just paperwork; it is a key equity issue that shapes who has access to higher education. Students’ stories reinforced the importance of validation and culturally relevant teaching. Their experiences also shed light on the impact of policy changes, like the shift from expected family contribution (EFC) to student aid index (SAI). These policies must be more than technical changes. They need to be designed with equity and cultural responsiveness in mind.
This study adds to the scholarship on Latinx students at HSIs but also points to practice. Institutions can better support students by simplifying financial aid, providing culturally relevant advising, and creating structures that honor the cultural wealth students already carry. Above all, this research shows that first-generation Latinx students are not just navigating barriers, they are finding ways to transform their own journeys and open doors for others in their communities
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.
Recommended Citation
Mariscal, Gema M., "How Do First-Generation Latinx Students at an HSI Community College Navigate Financial Aid Barriers?" (2025). Dissertations of Practice. 93.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-disspractice/93
