Factored into what colleges you should apply to, and, ultimately, which college to attend, must be the cost of four or more years of higher education. [How's that money tree doing?]

So, how does one cut through that seemingly bottomless pit of calculating the true cost of college, let alone comparing the bottom line of one college to another? And, once the cost of college is revealed, where does one find the funds to foot the bill?

First Step, College Cost Calculators. All coll...

The one word I hear most in my college planning and counseling adventures is "overwhelmed." Followed, in many instances, by "frustrated," "frightened," and "flabbergasted." [The latter probably being a good SAT word! :-)]

How something so seemingly simply (it actually was just that, back in the days when applications were written by hand and submitted via the United States Postal Service) could be turned into something so complex, complicated, costly, and, in almost every respect, inane.

The in...