Paying for College Without Going Broke, 2014 Edition (College Admissions Guides) 2014 ed.th Edition

A simple metaphor wraps up this entire book. Imagine someone is taking your photograph, the author says. You try to make yourself look as good as possible, right? You smile, you suck in your gut, straighten your tie. But in the game of college admissions -- and yes, folks, it is a game -- you're going for the exact opposite effect. You want to look as bad as possible to a college, so they'll offer you the very best financial aid package. So that means knowing where to put your assets and when, what kind of debt to assume and when, how to fill out the forms to your advantage and what changes to make from one college year to the next.Sound confusing? It is! My eyes glazed over by the time I got halfway through the book. But, if you're in a situation where your child isn't likely to get academic or athletic scholarships and finances are going to be a problem, a parent might be willing to wade through all this arcane financial advice. And the advice often goes against accepted wisdom about wise financial moves: Take on debt? Sure! Pay more in taxes? It's good for you! Buy a car, fix up your house, take a vacation... get those assets out of here!On the one hand, it makes me sad that this is the reality of affording college today. But on the other hand, if taking some of the suggestions in this book will help my child build the future he envisions, I am all for it. If it's legal and ethical and advantageous, count me in. This book is worth your time both for the financial strategies it outlines and in the hand-holding it provides for filling out forms and submitting applications. I learned several things I didn't know and am glad to know as we enter this "competition" with our child.In our run-up to the college application process, I've found a few books to be of infinite value. First,  The Perfect Score Project: One Mother's Journey to Uncover the Secrets of the SAT  by Debbie Stier got us started on at-home SAT prep a year in advance of the test date. We use the College Board's Official SAT Question of the Day app and the practice tests in  The Official SAT Study Guide . Second,  The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price  by Lynn O'Shaughnessy got us thinking about what factors schools look at, financial and otherwise, when making admissions decisions. Adding in this book, I think we're prepared to start making decisions that might help some dreams become reality. NOTE: There is a 2015 edition. Amazon erroneously sent me the 2014 edition, but the error was quickly resolved.

The book is designed for students planning to spend all his or her college years at a four-year college or university. Several key strategies would strengthen the book. First, more emphasis needs to be placed on doing at least one year at a community college to cover most of the basic general education courses. This represents a considerable savings, but even more importantly, the freshmen students who will flunk out of college will be gone by the time the transfer student enters as a sophomore. The sophomores generally are those who have the greatest likelihood of finishing a degree. Secondly, the book neglects completely earning any college credits through CLEP exams. Credit by CLEP, a College Board examination program which consists solely of multiple choice questions taken by computer at the date and time of the student's choosing. There are multiple prep books for preparing for CLEP exams, many of which can be taken by any motivated and relatively intelligent high school student willing to do a little extra work. 2900 colleges and universities accept CLEP credit. Thirdly, another alternative is to do a short-term certificate program at a community college geared to getting a higher paid job which will enable a student to earn more of his or her way through college if family finances are seen as too high for a generous financial aid package. This book is a good start, but it does not cover all the bases for a motivated student with a strong work ethic to reduce college costs.

I'd give this book 5 stars if it weren't Kindle. I started with a sample and the info was great, but when I downloaded the full version, it became very clear that this is best as a print book. Too much info that you want to go back and forth between and I found the Kindle was not conducive to this sort of use. Also, the amount of highlighting and notes I wanted to take also just didn't work well with Kindle format. So I have since bought the print edition and can't wait to get into it. But I would NOT recommend getting this one for Kindle.

I found this book to be less revealing than it claims. My kids are 7, 5, & 2 and we've been saving in a 529 from the month they were born which is pretty much all this book says to do if you are a long term investor.It may be better for short term investors but that isn't me.A family member of mine is 70 and has kids that are 18, 16, and 14. His case isn't covered either being that he's in retirement, can't take full advantage of an IRA or other retirement shelter because he's 70 and must start taking withdrawals from his retirement accounts but isn't sure if that's income or not.Anyway, it's pretty much a common sense book for the long term people.

I read this book from cover to cover. It was very informative and is well worth the price. After some number crunching, I doubt that the information would actually save me any money, but it was still worth it for the information.As a side note, I had a 2012 version of this book. There were very few changes between the versions and if I had know that they were that similar, I would not have purchased the newer version.

Might help some, but too much of the information may not apply for places like state schools, or people with medium income ranges. You are held hostage now by FASFA.

The bottom line is that you're screwed -- especially if you live in a small state with limited public choices. However, if you're an illegal alien, you'll probably be fine.

This book has a lot of information, but it feels like I'm talking to a tax attorney. Laymen need something more "colorful" to keep them alert during the reading.