A myth persists in America that any student who is academically prepared for college can enroll. The disturbing truth is that trends in tuition and financial aid policies are preventing hundreds of thousands of college-qualified low-and moderate-income students from enrolling in college. This article describes the real limits on opportunity that exist for students from low- and moderate-income families, the policy drift that has produced the record-high financial barriers faced by these students, the implications and challenges that these trends present, and what can be done to address them. (Contains 3 figures and 22 notes.)