| Figures and Tables | |
| Foreword | |
| Acknowledgments | |
| Pt. 1 | Introduction | 1 |
| 1 | Meeting Need and Rewarding Talent: Student Aid in the U.S. System of Higher Education Finance | 5 |
| 2 | Changing the Rules: The New Strategic Role of Student Aid | 15 |
| Pt. 2 | Student Aid and Educational Opportunity: Are We Keeping College Affordable? | 23 |
| 3 | Prices and Aid: The Growing Burden on Families | 25 |
| 4 | Access: Student Response to Higher Prices - and Higher Returns | 37 |
| 5 | Choice: How Ability to Pay Affects College Options | 42 |
| 6 | The Future of College Affordability | 49 |
| Pt. 3 | Student Aid and Institutional Strategy | 53 |
| 7 | Student Aid in Institutional Finance | 55 |
| 8 | How Government Aid Shapes Colleges' Behavior | 81 |
| 9 | Student Aid as a Competitive Weapon | 91 |
| Pt. 4 | The Special Case of Merit Aid | 105 |
| 10 | Merit Aid: Its Place in History and Its Role in Society | 107 |
| 11 | The Institutional Perspective | 116 |
| 12 | The Student Perspective | 122 |
| 13 | Conclusion: Merit Aid - Good or Bad? | 130 |
| Pt. V | The Future of Student Aid | 133 |
| 14 | Where Do We Go from Here? | 135 |
| Notes | 145 |
| Bibliography | 153 |
| Index | 157 |
