The best feature of this book is that it goes through the FAFSA application line by line and explains how each answer can affect your aid eligibility. However, the book I purchased had a misprint - page 64 was printed twice. Page 64 appears before and after page 65 - page 66 is missing. Be sure to check before you buy and if you already bought the version with the misprint, exchange it at the place of purchase.

Parents spend thousands on SAT preparation, tens of thousands on a private school education, and then leave their assets to the tender mercies of the Board of Education. Don't allow your financial future to be savaged by the struggle to cover ever-increasing college costs. It is essential to know how your answers to the 103 questions that comprise the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) will be interpreted. I read Sallie Mae's book, which highly recommends Sallie Mae loans - calls them an "investment". They are not, they are a long-term debt. Kalman Chaney offers unbiased advice for maximizing your awards, minimizing your debt, and weighing your college choices with more tools (like cost-to-attend and likelihood of providing aid) in hand. It is an eye opening book, I ordered the annual update, too. It is a bit overwhelming, and even if you decide to hire a college funding advisor to help you with this process, you should still buy the book.

After several months, I'm not quite halfway through the book, because just about anything else is more interesting and will supersede this on my reading list. That's probably not Princeton's fault. I could use a guide about one-third the length of this book.

Less conscientious readers would probably get a lot out of this by skipping many sections, but the college aid process is entirely new to me, so I'm skipping precious little.

The review also points out (quite correctly, I'm sure) that the parent's relationship with the financial aid officer is by nature--civil, respectful, cordial--but adversarial. The whole thought that I'll have to arrange the financial facts of my family to my best advantage is, for reasons that are difficult to explain, discouraging.

This book became the "Bible for financial aid", it was a great tool for guidance into the aid process. I was able to take the information and negotitate a better aid package for my son and daughter. Thanks to the Princeton review! P.S. my daughter received 9 letters of acceptance and over $14,000.00 in scholarships and grants.

This book offers some helpful advice for maximizing the amount of aid one might receive.

this book was really usefull in figuring out all the information needed to fill out the FAFSA.Reading it also helped make the form easier to understand when it came to filling it out

I learned so much from this book. I have read several other books in trying to comprehend how to maximize financial aid for college but this is THE book to buy. It is published yearly, contains very relevant information for all econmic situations, and is straightforward and honest. I am helping a former student of mine apply to college and request financial aid and this book pushed me several steps ahead. I can't wait to meet with Financial Aid Officers and ask questions. I think I am more capable than ever of ensuring my student gets aid and goes to a good school.