Financial aid plays a critical role in the postsecondary education of Latino students. However, very little comprehensive and easy to understand information is available about what types or how much financial aid Latinos receive. The goal of this brief is to provide timely and accurate information about how Latino undergraduates currently participate in different financial aid programs to pay for college. The brief is a summary of the status of aid to Latinos that can inform national debates, taking into consideration such ongoing discussions as reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), state policies and initiatives regarding Latino students, budget debates, and continuing dialogue about access and success for Latino students. The analysis in this policy brief is based on the most recent data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) for the 2003-04 academic year, which were released in spring 2005. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education uses NPSAS to collect comprehensive data on financial aid, such as information on demographic characteristics of students, enrollment patterns, student need, and the ways students pay for college. NPSAS provides information on students who have already accessed higher education and enrolled in a college or university. The study is based on a nationally representative sample, and data are collected on institutions and students using institutional records, government databases, and telephone interviews. These parameters of NPSAS provide a wealth of data for analysis on how Latinos participate and pay for college at a national level. The financial aid highlighted in this brief includes two types of aid--grants and loans--and three sources of aid--federal, state, and institutional aid. Other types of financial aid, such as tax credits, and other sources of aid, such as personal contributions and private sources, are not addressed in this brief. The brief is organized in six main sections. The first section provides a profile of Latino undergraduates to provide context for their participation in financial aid. The profile is followed by an overview of Latino participation in financial aid. The third section includes a description of Latino participation by type of aid, followed by a section with Latino participation in financial aid by source of aid. Within each section, several important demographic and enrollment characteristics are considered: gender, age, dependency status, parental educational attainment, family income, expected family contribution (EFC), attendance pattern, institutional type, Hispanic origin, and total tuition and fees. The following section includes analysis of how Latinos pay for college by type of institution and Latino origin. The brief concludes with recommendations and next steps for policy and research. Appendix includes 10 tables. (Contains 6 figures, 13 tables and 6 footnotes.)