January 1 is the earliest date to submit the form to request federal financial aid for higher education, and in February, many universities will begin to process requests based on these forms.

If high schoolers intend to begin college in 2007, during the upcoming spring they will find out if they have been accepted to the university of their choice. But what happens when they know where they’ll go? Let’s break it down.

First, as parents and children, you should not talk lightly about financing a college education. After you get the big news, you will go back and forth between happiness and relief, but consider this: It turns out that among minorities, Latinos are among the last to receive financial aid for college, averaging $7,084 per student, while the leaders are Asian-American students, who receive $9,221 per student on average.

From these numbers, there seems to be a dysfunctional relationship between Latinos and scholarships. The key to not becoming confused about this topic, which can represent the basis of professional success, is to start thinking about it as soon as possible, meaning January 1. Also, in February, some universities have priority application dates and grant financial aid to students who apply early. Filling out the financial aid application form (FAFSA) online is free at www.fafsa.ed.gov and it will only take a couple of hours at the public library. When you complete the FAFSA, make sure that the financial aid director at each school your child has applied to has all the necessary information. Many schools assign resources according to the criteria of first come, first served.

Agreeing with this, Harry Pachón, president of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI), a center for Latin American Studies in the United States, says that three out of four Latinos do not go to college because they are unfamiliar with the financial aid process.

“It’s not a matter of lack of culture. We Latinos need information and education,” confirmed Pachón. “Our studies show that in large cities, Latino parents do not know the difference between a university, college or a community college. And although 94 percent of these parents want their children to get a degree, they don’t even know what the SAT [Scholastic Aptitude Tests] is.”