Unlike in the K?12 education sector, where state and local spending eclipses national participation, the federal government has become the primary source of postsecondary education support for U.S. college students. In this Washington-centric context, accentuated by recent steep rises in tuition and other education-related costs, this report seeks to illuminate the expanding federal role in supporting postsecondary education, with particular attention to its effects on--and the extent and equitability of financial support for--California's college students and its institutions of higher learning. This report examines the Higher Education Act's myriad components--including grants, loans, and other forms of aid--from a California perspective, with an emphasis on California's share of federal resources. Although the report's primary focus is on federal activities that provide funds to recipient individuals or institutions using statutorily prescribed mathematical constructs, it also discusses other student aid programs with only minor formulaic components and still others that direct funds discretionarily through project grants, such as to support minority-serving institutions. (Contains List of Abbreviations and Acronyms, 10 Figures, 9 Tables, 19 Web-Only Tables, and 187 endnotes.)