This report critically reviews major empirical studies of student demand for higher education in the United States. It focuses on one policy issue, that of equalizing the access of students of different economic means and using tuition and student aid to achieve the desired distribution of those students in colleges. The studies reviewed are assessed by five major specification issues that serve as criteria for the adequacy of the experimental controls. Eight studies were chosen because they seemed to best illustrate the specification issues. The criteria are: (1) treatment of higher education as a consumptive item or investment; (2) student selection of institution type; (3) measurement of financial aid offers; (4) identification of demand-supply relationships; and (5) variations in college choice according to other factors such as sex or family income. (MSE)