Questions have been raised concerning the function served by each of the federal need-based student aid programs and the relationship between them: Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG), Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), College Work-Study (CWS), and National Direct Student Loan (NDSL). Analysis of the student aid packages was conducted using the CIRP data for 1974, 1975, and 1976. One change noted over the years is an increased use of campus-based monies for middle-income students. The most distinctive characteristic of the data on student aid "packages" is that the major proportion of aided students do not receive a "package"; 64 percent of the aided freshmen received only one form of the programs under consideration. This proportion is even higher (68 percent) when the scope is limited to freshmen in public institutions. The program dominating the student aid data is the BEOG program, and there are significant differences in award patterns between public and private institutions. The distribution of the four student aid programs are generally consistent with the legislative authorities under which they are funded, but the question arises regarding how the large proportion of students who receive only a BEOG are financing their education, particularly those students enrolled in high-priced institutions. (LBH)