Don't put too much faith in the net cost calculators that colleges are now required to post on their Web sites. "They'll let you know if you're in or out of the ballpark, but they're not good enough yet for comparing individual colleges," says Kantrowitz, who expects improvement over time.
Meanwhile, he suggests that students and their parents ask schools about their policies concerning the front-loading of loans and outside scholarships. And look out for scams. "You should never have to pay more than a postage stamp to get money," he says. He recommends searching for college scholarships as soon as possible and says students can apply for some of them while still in elementary school.
Don't overlook educational tax credits either, he says. They've improved under the American Opportunity Tax Credit introduced in 2009.
Advisor Alert
Mazareas, who's trained thousands of advisors over the past decade, says it's time for them to take a more proactive role in helping their clients plan for college costs. This includes helping them understand which private loans are competitive and when to use 529 plan assets or other funding sources.
"In the past, their role focused on savings/investments for college. In the future, by necessity, it will be to coordinate savings with debt [and competing/conflicting government tax incentives] through a comprehensive college financing plan," he says.
More advisors are getting on board. Darvis says his institute has seen a 20% rise in college planning certification candidates over two years ago. College Insights and the Barnum Financial Group, DeFontaine's two organizations, have teamed up to create the BFG Center for College Planning.
Advisors should start asking clients where their kids may want to attend college when the kids are high school freshmen or even in middle school, says Mazareas. There's a lot to talk about.