The federal role in helping colleges provide graduate education is considered, as part of hearings on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The question of whether there is access to graduate education is addressed. Attention is directed to the following concerns: the appropriate balance between undergraduate and graduate assistance; whether existing aid programs should be expanded to include graduate students or expanded to include more graduate students; what reasonable loan balances should be established for graduate and professional school students; and the impact of the federal government's efforts to expand access of minorities and women to graduate and professional education. Based on an Educational Testing Service study, it is suggested that some graduate and professional students who borrow heavily for school may encounter substantial repayment burdens and that, as tuitions climb, it is likely that student borrowing will also increase. Additional areas of consideration include the management of loan repayments, graduate fellowships that are targeted for minorities, the effect of heavy debt burdens on career choices, and whether students are pursuing professional degrees that take a shorter time to complete and that promise a higher payoff. (SW)