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Study: Latino Students Use Practical Strategies to Finance College Education

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Study: Latino Students Use Practical Strategies to Finance College Education

Latino students are making pragmatic financial choices to pay for their education, and institutions are increasingly responding with tailored support, according to a comprehensive new report released today by Excelencia in Education.

The report, “How Latinos Pay for College: 2025 National Trends,” builds on two decades of research and reveals that while Latino students demonstrate high financial need, they are employing effective cost-saving measures to make higher education affordable.

“Latinos are representative of a post-traditional student profile and changes in policy will be more impactful if made with the strengths and opportunities to serve this profile of students,” write Deborah A. Santiago, CEO, and Sarita E. Brown, President of Excelencia in Education, in the report’s foreword.

The study found that Latino students, who represent one in five postsecondary students nationwide, are more likely to be first-generation college-goers (51% compared to 22% of white students), come from lower-income households (70% have family incomes below $50,000), and have an expected family contribution (EFC) of zero (45%).

“Latino students make pragmatic choices with what they can control to make college affordable,” said Cassandra Arroyo, a research analyst at Excelencia and co-author of the report.

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To manage costs, Latino students employ multiple strategies: 56% work 30 or more hours weekly while enrolled, 55% attend part-time or mix their enrollment, 81% choose public institutions, and 89% live off-campus or with parents. These tactics represent a clear departure from the traditional college student profile and align with what Excelencia calls “post-traditional” learners.

The data reveals that Latinos rely more heavily on federal financial aid (58%) than state (30%), institutional (23%), or private aid (13%). Perhaps most significantly, Latino students are more than twice as likely to receive grants (67%) than take out loans (27%), indicating a strong preference for aid that doesn’t require repayment.

Yet despite high application rates for aid (85%), Latinos receive the lowest average financial aid among all racial/ethnic groups at $11,004, compared to $15,850 for Asian, $12,937 for White, and $12,365 for African American students.

“Twenty years later, we are revisiting what has changed and what has stayed the same. There has clearly been some progress, but the need to expand access to opportunity remains,” noted Santiago in the report’s foreword, referencing Excelencia’s initial study on Latino financial aid patterns from 2005.

The report also examines differences in aid receipt by institution type. Latino students at public two-year institutions are less likely to receive financial aid (57%) than those at other sectors, especially private institutions (87%). Furthermore, undergraduate Latinos attending private for-profit institutions are more likely to borrow federal loans (60%) compared to those at public two-year institutions (5%).

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Another key finding reveals that Latino students are more likely to receive need-based aid rather than merit-based aid. For state grants, 16% of Latino students received need-based grants compared to only 2% who received merit-only grants.

The report highlights innovative approaches implemented by institutions certified with the Seal of Excelencia. These 46 certified institutions represent less than 1% of all colleges and universities but enroll 17% and graduate 19% of all Latino students nationwide.

Among these institutions, several standout examples emerged. The University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Advance Commitment fully covers tuition for students with family incomes up to $65,000, while Miami Dade College provides “Last Mile Scholarships” for students who left with 13 or fewer credits remaining. Other institutions, like Metropolitan State University of Denver, created emergency retention funds to support students experiencing unexpected financial challenges.

“Leading institutions make choices with what they can control to make college more affordable,” said Emily Labandera, director of research at Excelencia and co-author of the report. “The institutions highlighted in this brief represent a select group of trendsetters that make up the Seal of Excelencia certified institutions that strive to go beyond enrollment to intentionally serve Latino students.”

The report concludes with policy recommendations at institutional, state, and federal levels. These include investing in guaranteed tuition plans by family income, including basic needs in financial aid calculations, prioritizing Pell Grants, and revising the Federal Work-Study distribution formula to better support students with high financial need.

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“Excelencia believes that good policy is informed by good practice,” the authors note, emphasizing that intentionally serving Latino students at scale requires understanding what works to accelerate their success.

With Latino enrollment in postsecondary education projected to increase by 31% by 2030, the findings provide critical insights for institutions and policymakers seeking to create more affordable pathways to degree completion for this growing demographic.

“We firmly believe that disaggregating our data and knowing how Latinos are participating in financial aid informs opportunities to compel action that can more intentionally serve other students as well,” write Santiago and Brown. “And understanding how institutions committed to intentionally serving Latino, and all, students are leveraging financial support to recruit, retain, and advance them to degree completion and connect them to the workforce is an opportunity to leverage and scale their innovation.”

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Finance

Casino Group Communication

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Casino Group Communication
Groupe Casino

Harmonization of the procedural framework for discussions
relating to the adaptation and strengthening
of the Casino Group’s financial structure

Paris, 15 May 2026

Further to the Group’s previous communications regarding the project to strengthen and adapt its financial structure, discussions are continuing with financial creditors across various entities within the Group.

As the formalization of a comprehensive agreement is facilitated by the existence of a uniform framework, the Group has applied to the President of the Paris Economic Activities Court for the opening of conciliation proceedings for the benefit of several of its companies1 for an initial period of four months, potentially extendable by one month. In this context, the appointment of SCP BTSG (Maître Marc Sénéchal) as conciliator is being considered for certain of these entities, while the appointment of SCP CBF Associés (Maître Lou Fréchard) is being sought as conciliator for Quatrim.

The Group will seek the consent of Quatrim’s high-yield bondholders for the opening of conciliation proceedings concerning Quatrim and Monoprix SAS, being respectively borrower and guarantor of these bonds.

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These conciliation proceedings, which are consistent with those initiated early March2, only concern the financial debt of the companies involved and will have no impact on the Group’s relationships with its operating partners (in particular its suppliers) and employees. Operational activities will continue as normal, in line with the Group’s strategic priorities.

***

ANALYSTS AND INVESTORS CONTACTS

Charlotte IZABEL – cizabel@groupe-casino.fr – Tél: +33 (0)6 89 19 88 33

IR_Casino@groupe-casino.fr – Tél : +33 (0)1 53 65 24 17

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PRESS CONTACTS

Casino Group – Communications Department

Stéphanie ABADIE – sabadie@groupe-casino.fr – Tél : +33 (0)6 26 27 37 05

directiondelacommunication@groupe-casino.fr – Tél : + 33(0)1 53 65 24 29


1 Casino Guichard Perrachon, Naturalia France, Monoprix SAS, Monop’ SAS, Samada, Aux Galeries de la Croisette, Monop’Station, O’Monoprix, OLogistique, C- Logistics, C-Technology, CLR, CLV, CShield, Cnova France, IGC Services, Cnova Pay, Casino Finance, Franprix Leader Price Holding and Quatrim
2 Press release dated 9 March 2026 : conciliation proceedings initiated for the benefit of Maas, Sédifrais, ExtenC, Monoprix Holding, Monoprix Exploitation, Distribution Franprix, Franprix-Leader Price Finances, Achats Marchandises Casino and Cdiscount

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Finance

Texas restaurants feel financial strain as costs continue to rise, report shows

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Texas restaurants feel financial strain as costs continue to rise, report shows

Texas restaurant operators are continuing to face mounting financial pressure as rising food and fuel costs impact businesses across the state, according to the latest quarterly economic report from the Texas Restaurant Association.

The association’s 2026 first-quarter report shows that many restaurant owners are struggling to keep up with increased operating expenses while trying to avoid passing those full costs on to customers.

“You know, what we’re seeing a lot of in Texas from these quarterly economic reports that we do is that food costs continue to rise,” said Texas Restaurant Association Chief Marketing Officer Tony Abroscato. “We all know that it’s up 35% since the pandemic. And so that’s an impact on our restaurant.”

According to the report, 77% of restaurant operators reported increased costs of goods, while 66% said suppliers have added fuel surcharges as gas prices continue to climb.

“We’re seeing that 90% of consumers start to adjust their habits based upon rising gas prices,” said Tony Abroscato. “Then also those gas prices impact the cost of food because everything is trucked and shipped and a variety of different things.”

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In addition to rising costs, labor shortages remain a major concern for restaurant owners. More than half of association members reported difficulties finding enough workers.

“You know, immigration is difficult and has had an impact on the restaurant industry, the farming industry, which again, then raises prices along the way,” said Abroscato.

Despite the financial challenges, the Texas Restaurant Association’s 2026 first-quarter report shows that Texas restaurants are only passing a portion of those increased costs on to customers while absorbing the rest through reduced profits.

Some restaurant owners have been making changes to adjust, like limiting menu items or even turning to QR code ordering, Abroscato said.

Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.

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Finance

Household savings, income and finances in Spain: how did they fare in 2025 and what can we expect for 2026?

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Household savings, income and finances in Spain: how did they fare in 2025 and what can we expect for 2026?

In 2025, GDI grew above the rate of average annual inflation (2.7%) and the growth in the number of households (1.3% according to the LFS), which allowed for a recovery in purchasing power. In this context, real household income has grown by 4.5% since before the pandemic, highlighting that households have continued to gain purchasing power in real terms.

The strong financial position of households is reflected not only in the high savings rate but also in their financial accounts. In this regard, households’ financial wealth continued to increase in 2025: their financial assets amounted to 3.4 trillion euros at the end of the year, versus 3.1 trillion at the end of 2024. This increase of 292 billion euros is broken down into a net acquisition of financial assets amounting to 95 billion, higher than the 21.5-billion average in the period 2015-2019, when interest rates were very low, and a revaluation effect of 194 billion. When breaking down the net acquisition of assets, we note that households invested 42 billion euros in equities and investment funds, just under 9.6 billion less than in deposits, while they disposed of debt securities worth 6 billion following the fall in interest rates.

On the other hand, households continued to deleverage in 2025, and by the end of the year their financial liabilities stood at 46.9% of GDP, compared to 47.8% in 2024, the lowest level since the end of 1998. This decline reflects the fact that, in 2025, households took advantage of the interest rate drop to prudently incur debt: net new borrowing amounted to 35 billion euros, representing an increase of 3.8%, which is lower than the nominal GDP growth of 5.8% and the GDI growth of 5.3%.

As a result of the increase in financial assets and the decrease in liabilities as a percentage of GDP, the net financial wealth of households recorded a notable increase of 7.3 points compared to 2024, reaching 156.8% of GDP.

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