Student parents face many challenges to accessing, persisting, and completing postsecondary education. While some of these challenges are unique to student parents--such as finding quality child care during class and work hours and juggling studying and academic assignments with parenting duties--others are typical of low-income and underserved populations more generally, who face financial difficulties and the need to work to cover college expenses. These factors influence student parents' decisions about the type of institution they attend, as well as whether they attend full- or part-time. College choice and enrollment status may also affect the persistence and graduation rates of student parents, and reduce their ability to receive federal, state, and institutional financial aid. The federal government, in particular, has a range of financial aid resources to offer students, though the sheer number of options in addition to the complexity in eligibility and delivery of awards may make it difficult for student parents to understand and take advantage of the options available to them. This brief aims to explain the circumstances of student parents--particularly vis-á-vis the financial aid system--as well as detail major federal programs that could impact student parents' college-going experience. Better communication, outreach and design of these programs, where needed, could have a substantial impact on college access, institutional choice, and persistence for student parents. Given that this population makes up nearly a quarter of all students, improving these programs could make a considerable dent in achieving national college attainment goals as well.