From 2002-2003 to 2012-2013, the total amount of federal financial aid awarded to students under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) jumped from $82.7 billion to an estimated $169.7 billion, a 10-year increase of 105 percent. For 2012-2013, the Title IV programs accounted for 71 percent of the $238.5 billion in total financial aid received by college students. Despite the demonstrable and continually increasing importance of federal student aid, the majority of Americans have little knowledge of the Title IV programs or the processes necessary to apply for these funds. At the same time, members of Congress have been increasingly interested in and debating the best ways to reform and strengthen the federal aid programs. It is important that Congress and the general public understand these programs and the students they serve. In an effort to increase knowledge of these vital programs, the "National Profile" provides detailed information about most of the programs authorized under Title IV of the HEA, including: (1) descriptions of the federal student aid programs; (2) recent trends in federal program appropriations; (3) income levels of students and families who receive aid; and (4) a description of the federal student aid application process. [For the 2013 report, see ED590344.]