Early awareness strategies, from outreach campaigns to cohort-based learning groups to scholarships, are a group of efforts that help middle school students stay on the path to college and understand how to fund their education. These strategies become part of early awareness programs, which seek to put students on a college-going path by recruiting them in fifth through eighth grades. Such programs introduce many low-income and first-generation students to college and career opportunities they might not otherwise know are available. These programs provide much-needed aid and assistance to many low-income and first-generation students. They communicate with students and inform them that despite their socioeconomic status, they have the option to reach just as high, or even beyond, their higher-income peers. This brief outlines strategies that best promote early awareness in financial aid for middle-grade students, highlights a few examples of successful programs, and provides an overview of recommendations for implementation. This paper is divided into sections outlining four early awareness strategies: (1) children's savings account programs; (2) place-based Promise programs; (3) early commitment scholarships; and (4) informational campaigns. The National College Access Network (NCAN) does not recommend any one strategy over another, but instead discusses the most equitable way to implement each one. [Lisa King Consulting, LLC contributed to the writing of this report.]