This booklet briefly deals with the question of how higher education should be financed and what should be the balance between public and private contributions to this financing. After a brief discussion on the justification of subsidizing higher education out of public funds, the author then goes on to provide an overview of the different ways of subsidizing students. She reviews the objectives of student aid programmes and discusses the arguments for and against grants or loans for students. In conclusion she lists a number of questions which should be analyzed when undertaking an evaluation of student aid systems.