You should also consider hiring a professional financial advisor who has specialized in financial aid rules.

I have a handful of friends who went to see a local planner, Brent Reader, here in northwest Arkansas about their juniors and sophomores in high school. He worked with them to restructure their income and assets to minimize what the government expected them to pay.

For instance, one of my friends had put quite a bit of money in her daughter's name to save money on taxes or something. Apparently, you can be penalized for this on the FAFSA. Brent helped her and her husband reduce their share from $23,000 per year to just $3800! All my other girl friends who hired him mentioned similar results.

When it was all said and done, their kids will be going to really nice private schools for little more than our local community college would have cost.  Wish I'd known about these services when I was in high school!

Considering how much money one of these specialists can save people, their fees are cheap. Will definitely hire him when my son is a little older.

Here is his website for anyone that is interested.  I don't know if he works anywhere besides locally:

www.nwacollegeplanners.com