More than twelve million undergraduate students in the United States benefit from some form of financial aid. The large percentage of students accessing financial aid indicates that affordability is a pressing problem for many current and potential college students and their families. As college costs continue to rise, the availability of financial assistance becomes increasingly important, especially to students from low-income families. In this context, the authors carry out a comparison of federal grants-in-aid awarded at public and private four year degree granting institutions.