Paying for College Without Going Broke, 1999 Edition: Insider Strategies to Maximize Financial Aid and Minimize College Costs (Issn 1076-5344) (Paperback)

by John Katzman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The most complete and up-to-date book I've seen on loans, grants, and tax strategies for parents of college-bound children." --Terry Savage, Chicago Sun Times

"Paying for College could accurately be titled 'Everything the College Financial Aid Officers Won't Tell, and Everything You Never Thought to Ask." --New York Daily News -- Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"The most complete and up-to-date book I've seen on loans, grants, and tax strategies for parents of college-bound children." --Terry Savage, Chicago Sun Times

"Paying for College could accurately be titled 'Everything the College Financial Aid Officers Won't Tell, and Everything You Never Thought to Ask." --New York Daily News --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 302 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Review (October 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375752110
• ISBN-13: 978-0375752117
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,231,019 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Be wary of blanket assertions about the availability of aid!, November 16, 2001

By	David R. Moran (Lincoln, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Paying for College Without Going Broke, 2002 Edition (Paperback)

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."

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely worthless for independent students., July 26, 2002

By	ripovitan d! (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paying for College Without Going Broke, 2002 Edition (Paperback)

This book should be entitled "Paying For Your <i>Child's</i> 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.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for PARENTS; Not Good for ADULT STUDENTS, April 13, 1999

By A Customer

This book is written for parents who are about to send their child to college. It's not written for adult students, per se, although it states(on one or two lines)that the principles are about the same. However, I don't believe most adult students have their own businesses, own houses and/or property, and can itemize deductions on their income taxes, to lower the AGI(Adjusted Gross Income), as the book describes. The book is good for parents who plan to send their kids to school, but for adult students, it gets very confusing. It's very vague as to whether the same principles that apply to parents, apply to adult students.