The distribution of student financial aid funds at the state level is described and some of the variables that are associated with the allocation of funds from the different programs are identified. This paper is divided into several sections. The first reviews the work done on measures of educational opportunity and analyzes the shortcomings of these approaches. The second section reviews the distribution of student aid dollars to states from all sources. The third section describes the current programs supplying financial aid to students including the Guaranteed Student Loan Program (GSL), Basic Educational Opportunity Grants (BEOG), the National Direct Student Loan Program (NDSL), the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG), the College Work-Study Program (CWS), and the State Student Incentive Grant Program (SSIG). The appendix contains an outline of the need calculations. (SPG)