Student aid in higher education is a controversial issue. This book explains how both colleges and governments are struggling to cope with a rapidly changing marketplace and show how sound policies can help preserve the strengths and remedy the weaknesses of American higher education. The book offers a detailed look at how undergraduate education is financed in the United States, highlighting differences across sectors and for students of differing family backgrounds. It reviews the implications of recent financing trends for access to, and choice of undergraduate college, and gauges the implications of these national trends for the future of college opportunity. The book also examines how student aid fits into college budgets, how aid and pricing decisions are shaped by government higher education policies and how competition has radically reshaped the way in which colleges think. In addition, the attractions and pitfalls of merit aid are considered from the viewpoint of students, institutions and society.