FinAid | Answering Your Questions | Books About Strategies for Maximizing Aid/Negotiating

Books About Strategies for Maximizing Aid/Negotiating

FastWeb College Gold: The Step-by-Step Guide to Paying for College, Harper Collins, September 2006. $21.95. 305 pages. Includes information about maximizing eligibility for need-based financial aid, winning scholarships, saving for college, avoiding common errors and scholarship scams, completing financial aid application forms, evaluating college financial aid packages and comparing student loan options and borrowing costs. To order a copy or for more information, visit the book's companion web site www.collegegold.com.

Kalman A. Chany and Geoff Martz, The Princeton Review Student Access Guide to Paying for College 1995, 3rd edition, Villard Books, New York, 1994. ISBN 0-67974-497-0 ($16.00). 285 pages. Revised annually. Discusses strategies for maximizing aid and how to fill out financial aid forms. Also talks about innovative payment plans and solutions to unusual problems. To order a copy, write to Villard Books, Random House, New York, NY 10022.

Kristin Davis, Financing College, Kiplinger Times Business (Random House), Washington, DC, 1996. ISBN 0-8129-2827-X ($15.00). 288 pages. A good guide to financial planning for college. Discusses saving and investing for college, prepaid tuition plans, increasing eligibility for financial aid, searching for scholarships, and loans. Contains an in-depth look at the best investments for your college fund. Includes several worksheets, including one you can use to calculate your expected family contribution (EFC). The emphasis is on practical and realistic advice, such as a list of ways to cut your expenses and tips on how to manage your cash flow. To order a copy, call 1-800-280-7165 or write to Kiplinger Books and Tapes, PO Box 85193, Richmond, VA 23285-5193.

Alice Drum and Richard Kneedler, Funding a College Education: Finding the Right School for Your Child and the Right Fit for Your Budget, Harvard Business School Press, 1996. ISBN 0-87584-628-9 ($14.95 plus $4 shipping). 235 pages. This book discusses planning for a college education for your children. It includes an overview of financial aid and the application process, tools for comparing award letters, and worksheets for computing the college expenses and the family's ability to pay for college. The latter worksheet does not compute the expected family contribution (EFC), but rather a detailed analysis of the financial resources available to the family. This is more of a budgeting exercise than an EFC calculation, and includes an expense reduction worksheet. By going through this exercise you can identify where to sacrifice in order to meet your children's college expenses. They also review strategies for sheltering funds from the need analysis process. A good general overview from a parent's perspective. To order a copy, write to Harvard Business School Press, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163 or call 1-800-545-7685 (or 1-617-495-6117) or 1-800-988-0886 (or 1-617-496-1449). Orders may also be placed with McGraw-Hill; to order, call 1-800-722-4726 or write to McGraw-Hill, Inc., Customer Services, PO Box 545, Blacklick, OH 43004-0545.

Stephanie Gallagher, Money Secrets the Pros Don't Want You to Known, AMACOM, New York, 1995. ISBN 0-8144-7893-X ($17.95). 246 pages. This book includes a 19-page chapter about financing a college education, with advice on saving for college, maximizing eligibility for financial aid, and cutting college costs. To order a copy, write to AMACOM, American Management Association, 135 West 50th Street, New York, NY 10020.

Peter V. Laurenzo CFP, College Financial Aid: How to Get Your Fair Share, 3rd edition, Hudson Financial Press, Albany, New York, 1995. ISBN 0-96299-612-2 ($10.95 + $2.50 shipping and handling). 137 pages. Peter Laurenzo is a principal of College Aid Planning Associates, Inc. of Albany, New York. The book discusses college financial planning and maximizing eligibility for aid, with an overview of federal financial aid. To order a copy, call 1-518-435-9042, fax 1-518-435-9044, write to Hudson Financial Press, 6 Executive Park Drive, Albany, NY 12203, or send email to capainc@capainc.com.

Anna Leider and Robert Leider, Don't Miss Out: The Ambitious Student's Guide to Financial Aid, 21st edition, Octameron Associates, Alexandria, Virginia, September 1996. ISBN 1-57509-009-0 ($7.50). 144 pages. Revised annually. This book includes strategies for maximizing financial aid and a list of private aid sources. Densely packed with information. Available for free on the World Wide Web. To order this or other Octameron books, call 1-703-836-5480 or write to Octameron Associates, PO Box 2748, Alexandria, VA 22301.

Donald Moore, Financial Aid Officers: What They Do To You and For You, 8th edition, Octameron Associates, Alexandria, Virginia, September 1994. ISBN 0-945981-88-0 ($4.00). 28 pages. This book discusses the role of the financial aid administrator. It provides advice for students and parents on how to 'negotiate' with financial aid administrators to improve your aid package. To order this or other Octameron books, call 1-703-836-5480 or write to Octameron Associates, PO Box 2748, Alexandria, VA 22301.

Pat Ordovensky, USA Today - Financial Aid for College: A Quick Guide to Everything You Need to Know, With the New 1996 Forms, Peterson's Guides, Princeton, New Jersey, 1995. ISBN 1-56079-377-5 ($8.95). 154 pages. This book provides a clear and easy-to-read overview of financial aid. It covers the various types and sources of financial aid, need analysis calculations, packaging, increasing aid eligibility, and saving for school. The book includes examples of three typical students and families. To order a copy, call 1-800-EDU-DATA (1-800-338-3282) x660 or 1-609-243-9111 x660 (x462 for Spanish), fax 1-609-243-9150, write to Peterson's Guides, PO Box 2123, Princeton, NJ 08543-2123, or send email to custsvc@petersons.com.

Edward H. Rosenwasser, How to Obtain Maximum College Financial Aid, 4th edition, Student College Aid, Houston, Texas, 1994. ISBN 0-932495-08-7 ($12.95 + $3.75 postage). 178 pages. The focus of the book is on maximizing eligibility for federal student aid. This book is printed in an all-bold Helvetica font, making it very hard to read. The organization is also a bit choppy and disjointed - it doesn't flow well. To order a copy, call 1-800-245-5137 or 1-713-796-2209, fax 1-713-796-9963, or write to Student College Aid, 7950 N Stadium Drive #229, Houston, TX 77030.

Jayme Stewart, How to Get Into the College of Your Choice and How to Finance It, 1st edition, William Morrow & Co., Inc., New York, 1991. ISBN 0-68809-209-8 ($10.95). 176 pages. This is a college admissions guide with a 10-page chapter on financial aid. Despite the age of the book, the information is only slightly dated. It provides good advice about maximizing eligibility for financial aid. To order a copy, write to William Morrow & Co., Inc., 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019.