This is the first book to explain the new reality of financial aid -- in which discounts and deal-making reduce the sticker price at even the best schools, and even for families who would not have qualified for need-based aid in the past. Since the Justice Department broke up collusion among the elite colleges in 1992, and because of escalating competitive pressures, colleges now use financial aid to compete for students rather than to merely cover need. The relatively uniform system of aid that existed years ago is gone, replaced by one in which aid varies depending on the school's resources and its place in the market. Bruce Hammond shows families how to use the new rules of the game to their advantage -- to make even the best schools affordable. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.