Review: Getting into College and Paying for It by Reecy Aresty

If you've been reading Free Money Finance for any amount of time, you know what a big fan I am of getting an education. Doing so can literally make you millions of dollars (versus not getting one) and make a significant difference in the lifestyle you're able to lead. Here are a few posts on the subject for additional thoughts:

• Why Education is So Important to Your Financial Future -- And How You Can Pay for College

• College is Expensive, but Well Worth It Financially (Or: Give Four Years and $40,000 and Get an Extra $1 Million)

• This Year's Graduate's Destined to Earn Millions in Their Lifetimes; Average Graduate Can Earn $25 Million if Career is Managed Correctly

• College is Worth the Expense

• Earn More by Going to College

But let's face it, many people are lost when it comes to the best practices they need to employ to get their child into a good school without spending a fortune. If only there was a book that gave the "soup to nuts" version that guided parents through the process. Well, there is such a book, and I recently received a copy of it. The title is Getting Into College and Paying for It and it's truly the best book I've ever read on the subject.

Book Summary

Getting Into College and Paying for It is about just what you'd think it would be about: how to get your child into the right college and how to finance what can be an overwhelming financial challenge. The book is packed full of specific, practical principles for completing these two objectives and is written in a straight-forward style that makes understanding and following the ideas very easy. Here's a listing of the book's chapters:

• Chapter 1: Pre-Admission
• Chapter 2: The 9th Grade Student
• Chapter 3: College Planning for the 10th Grade
• Chapter 4: College Planning for the 11th Grade
• Chapter 5: 12th Grade -- The Main Event
• Chapter 6: Atypical Student Classifications
• Chapter 7: Income Planning
• Chapter 8: Asset Repositioning
• Chapter 9: Financial Aid Overview
• Chapter 10: The Paperwork
• Chapter 11: The Expected Family Contribution
• Chapter 12: Reducing the Cost of College

As you can see, it's pretty comprehensive.

My Thoughts and Rating

I love this book (in case you haven't been able to tell that up to now). It's practical, has great tips, and can literally save you thousands of dollars (not to mention make the difference between getting into the college you want and your 5th or 6th choice). It's so comprehensive that it starts with 9th grade -- detailing what you and the student need to do -- and continues all the way into and through the financial aid process. There may be a few tips left out of the book, but if there are, I sure don't know what they are. I think it just about covers it all.

If there's any downside to the book, it's that its formatting is rather basic and choppy, which makes reading it difficult at times. It's certainly not a "pretty" book. But if you want information that will help you get your child into college and help you get the most financial aid possible to pay for it, then this book is for you.

The Free Money Finance rating for Getting Into College and Paying for It (based on my 0 thru 10 rating system) is: 7 Stars.

Comments

[Penny Hastings]

Hello,
I don't see any coverage of encouraging kids to use their special talents to get scholarships. Sports, music and the arts, computers...there are other talents that students can combine with good grades to get scholarship assistance. For student-athletes, they don't have to be a superstar. Being skilled in both sports and scholastics can get them a scholarship to pay or help pay for their college educations.
Penny Hastings