364: Financial Aid Explained for First-Gen Students and Their Families with Erica Hernandez
From Grad School Femtoring: Inclusive Grad School Stories, Personal Development, and Productivity Tips for First-Gen BIPOCs by A podcast on thriving in graduate school for first-generation BIPOC students, offering insights on academic success, career development, mental health, and navigating diversity and inclusion in higher education.
March 20, 2026 · 32 min · Episode 364
About this episode
This episode discusses financial aid for first-gen students and their families with Erica Hernandez, focusing on misconceptions and planning for wealth.
In this episode of the Grad School Femtoring podcast, I talk with first-generation college graduate and seasoned Bay Area admissions consultant, Erica Hernandez, about financial aid for first-gen students and their families. Erica shares how growing up in the Bay Area with limited guidance shaped her work helping families ask better questions about financial aid beyond just income, including factors schools consider and the separation between admissions and financial aid decisions. We discuss common misconceptions among middle and upper-middle income first-gen parents, the “middle-income gap,” and why families need 5–10+ year planning to build and preserve wealth. Erica also breaks down differences between public and private institutions and why students should also think about grad school in this process.
People in this episode
Guest: Erica Hernandez
Topics covered
- financial aid
- first-generation students
- wealth planning
- college admissions
Keywords
- BIPOC
- education
- financial planning
- college guidance
Mentioned in this episode
Products: financial aid resources, college planning tools
Books & works: Grad School Femtoring
Places: Bay Area, the Bay Area
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