"Hispanic Americans are strongly committed to achieving the American dream of a college education, a new nationwide survey by OppenheimerFunds shows. But in a troubled economy, that goal is 'under siege,' as only a small percentage are able to save up to make the dream a reality," HispanicBusiness.com reports. "Of those Hispanics polled, nearly all -- 95 percent -- said they view sending their children to college as an 'essential part of the American dream,' on par with homeownership and a comfortable retirement. ... While more than three-quarters of the Hispanics say they want to finance at least 50 percent of their child's college expenses, including 21 percent who say they want to cover the entire cost, their hopes may be out of sync with financial realities. A quarter of those polled said they had saved less than $1,000 for college expenses, and 12 percent hadn't saved anything. Nearly half (45 percent) said they had put college saving on hold because of the economic downturn."