If you are Hispanic and are about to enter college, you have lots of scholarship and college grants for hispanics options available to you. These programs are geared specifically for students with Latino ancestry, and their purpose is to help a minority group, that is often underserved, obtain the same privileges as the rest of the population.

One such program is the Hispanic Scholarship Fund; this fund gives students access to a number of hispanic college grants specifically earmarked for students of Latino heritage. One of these is the Gates Millennium Scholars program. It serves minorities of all nationalities, not just students of Hispanic heritage. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation developed this program, and high school seniors can access it. Regardless of the degree programs they pursue, students with a high GPA can receive money through this program. Qualifying applicants must have GPAs with at least a 3.3 average, have good leadership skills, and be in substantial financial need.

but Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the Margoes Foundation have teamed up to offer a scholarship as well. This program is open to Latino students from the San Francisco area only, and they must be seniors who have had involvement in the College Connect program. Awards can be as high as $2,500.

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund assists eligible students through the General College Scholarship program. These awards have lots of competition, but if you have a GPA of at least 3.0, are going to go to school full-time in a degree program, whether two or four-year, and you are a US citizen with Latino heritage, you can qualify for this program. Both graduate and undergraduate students can qualify for this program, as long as they are going to undergraduate or graduate programs for the first time. The typical award is between $1,000 and $5,000.

If you’re a Latino student who wants to pursue an engineering, technology, science or mathematics, you may qualify for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Procter & Gamble Company scholarship. The scholarship is worth $2500, is offered to Hispanic students who carry a GPA of 3.0 or more, and is available in a limited number of areas. Qualifying students must attend a degree program full-time in either the United States or another of the qualifying territories.

You must complete the FAFSA before you apply for any of these scholarships. Financial need is determined through FAFSA, and is one of the ways authorities decide which students will receive monies for school. To find out more about the programs available to Latino students, visit the Hispanic Scholarship Fund or talk to your school’s financial aid or guidance counselor.