Preliminary data and analyses on student financial aid during 1983-1984 are presented, based on a policy seminar at which a national survey of aid recipients was examined. Evidence suggests that students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, increasingly rely on loans as a form of college financing. Financial aid participation rates among minority students has also been declining, while proprietary students depend heavily on loans and Pell grants. The 1983-1984 Survey of Student Aid Recipients investigated the distribution of student financial aid, characteristics of students receiving aid, and the role that aid plays in the financing of college. Data are provided on: the sample of institutions by type; the average cost of attendance; total enrollment; total aid recipients as percent of total enrollment; total federal aid recipients as a percent of total enrollment; the age distribution of aid recipients; the percent who are minority; the age and income distribution of dependent and independent students; student expenses; student resources (parental contribution, grants, student employment, loans, and student contributions); recipients of aid sources at public and private institutions; and graduate student aid recipients at private institutions. (SW)