Many new loan and scholarship programs are available, most open to middle-income families. State loans and grants are increasingly attractive, aid packages are more likely to include merit scholarships and complex new financing arrangements offered by schools themselves. Families must learn to shop carefully for good, not gimmicky, aid. (MSE)

The ways middle-income families pay for college are examined, based on a national survey of student aid recipients, especially traditional undergraduate dependent students. Information is provided on the mix between loans, grants, work, and family contribution, as well as the relationship between federal, state, and college-sponsored aid. Examples…