The attitudes of California's Latino population differ from the population at large in a number of ways. Perhaps the biggest difference concerns the most desirable goals of a college education. For Latinos, the single most important goal is "giving minorities such as blacks and Latinos opportunities to succeed." Seventy-three percent of Latinos describe this goal as "extremely important" as compared to only 43 percent of the non-Latino population. Latinos are also more likely to describe a college education as necessary for almost everyone. This view is held by 75 percent of California Latinos as compared to only a narrow majority (51 percent) of non-Latinos. California's Latino population, then, is even more likely to see higher education as an essential path to opportunity and success.
The centrality of this goal for Latinos may explain other differences between Latinos and the rest of the population. Latinos are particularly concerned about access to higher education as it exists currently. Over two-thirds (68 percent) of Latinos believe that many qualified people currently do not have an opportunity to attend college, as compared to only 48 percent of non-Latinos. And Latinos are more likely to think that the price of a college education is higher in California than in other states (49 percent of Latinos believe this as compared to 30 percent of the rest of the population).
Latinos are also more likely to look to government for support in obtaining this important goal. By margins of more than two to one (61 percent compared to 26 percent), Latinos support the idea that government should support needy students through grants and loans (even if other programs have to be cut), rather than requiring the students to make sacrifices and work part-time. The rest of the population is more evenly divided on this question, with 47 percent supporting grants and loans and 44 percent calling for more sacrifice. Similarly, the Latino population is more supportive of state financial aid to students and more supportive of direct aid to colleges. (To insure that Latino attitudes were accurately measured, respondents were given a choice about whether to do the interview in English or Spanish. Five percent of the interviews were conducted in Spanish.)