Paying for college has always been considered primarily a family responsibility, to be met to the extent possible through some combination of income, savings, and borrowing. However, a variety of government, institutional, and private programs exist to help students who lack the necessary financial resources or whose academic or other achievements qualify them for scholarships. This report describes how the families of dependent students used financial aid and their own resources to pay for college, emphasizing variation by family income and type of institution attended. The tables in this report show many aspects of student financing at five types of institutions, and within each type, at five levels of family income.
