Don't let the anecdotal experiences of the guy you work with disuade you, there is a lot of help out there and this book will give a leg up on finding it.

As I tell my clients, the more you know about the rules of the college funding game, the more money you will save. So get this book and save some money.

Now if they only wrote it with a good index.


Absolutely worthless for independent students.   July 26, 2002
 22 out of 25 found this review helpful

This book should be entitled "Paying For Your Child's College Without Going Broke". It contains almost no information for one who is trying to pay their own way through college. In fact the information in this book is so insular, I'm led to believe that unless you're a clone copy of the author, you won't find any relevant information in this book whatsoever. This is a throwaway piece of tripe intended to capitalize on peoples' apprehension of college costs. There is nothing here you won't find elsewhere on the net.


Be wary of blanket assertions about the availability of aid!   November 17, 2001
 55 out of 56 found this review helpful

Widely quoted on the Web is the assertion from this book that "...almost every family now qualifies for some form of assistance. Many parents don't believe that a family that makes $75,000+ a year, owns its home, and holds substantial assets could receive financial aid. These days, that family--provided it is presented in the right light--almost certainly does."

Financial advice columnist Kenneth Hooker recently wrote the same thing:
"You can take some comfort in the fact that buying a college education has become a good deal like buying a new car -- virtually nobody pays the sticker price. There are a wide variety of financial aid programs available, both through the government and through the schools themselves, and the real costs are likely to be dramatically lower than the figures supplied ...."

As the completely middle-class, full-tuition-paying parent of a child at an Ivy League college, I feel like a total chump when I read this stuff.

Well, maybe I have missed something in all of my researches and walk-throughs with family contribution calculators, but I'm not sure.

Since there has been such a marked reduction, even disappearance of merit scholarships, and almost everything now is needs-based, parents should know that if your child applies to a private school that includes home equity in its EFC (as many now do, maybe most), and
(a) if your debt (mortgage and home loans) is not huge, and/or
(b) if you make a decent salary, and/or
(c) if you have saved and invested over the years and now have a moderate portfolio (however much it's down from 1-2 years ago),

then you almost certainly are NOT going to qualify for any financial aid whatsoever from any number of competitive private schools. Loans, sure. Aid, most likely no.

So far as I can determine, you are expected to take out a home-equity loan (if your house debt is low enough) and pay the full fare. And/or sell some of those "substantial assets."

I am not saying this is wrong, or even unfair for those of us who are comfortably middle-class. But unless I have made some major omissions, similar parents should not be misled by the broad promises and assertions by these college-financing "experts."