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In keeping with the new frugality, this college guide, written by a senior attending the University of Massachusetts, offers practical advice on how to pay for college without taking out loans. Decidedly old school in approach, Bissonnette advocates that students should bear the brunt of paying for their educations by working while in college and during breaks. He also suggests that attending community college for two years before transferring to a four-year college or university would go a long way toward cutting costs. Systematically and amusingly debunking the selection criteria used by U.S. News and World Report and others to rank elite colleges, Bissonnette is a strong advocate of attending reasonably priced state schools. He makes good points about how debt from student loans often prevents recent grads from starting families or buying homes. He also presents convincing research that elite graduate programs and selective employers accept plenty of people who have attended nonelite schools. Although the strictly dollars-and-cents approach to higher education may not sit well with some parents, this is a timely guide to a decision that has important financial ramifications. --Joanne Wilkinson

Review

"If the National Association for College Admissions Counseling had anticipated the dire consequences of one of the smartest teenagers in America encountering the ill-examined assumptions of their profession, they might have found some way to buy him off, maybe a full ride scholarship to Harvard. Too late. Bissonnette is 21 now, a senior at the University of Massachusetts. He has written the best and most troubling book ever about the college admissions process."
-Jay Mathews, The Washington Post

"Let Zac Bissonnette help you plan for college-where to go, what to study, and how to pay for it-and you will finish rich"
-David Bach #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Automatic Millionaire and Start Late, Finish Rich

"In the new economy, your college choice is critical. Zac Bissonnette's Debt- Free U is the one book you need to make this life-changing decision-- thoroughly researched, smart, and funny. Grade: A+."
-Ali Rogers, CBS Moneywatch. Author, Diary of a Real Estate Rookie

"With Bissonnette, college-bound students and their parents finally have an unbiased source to help make an educated decision about choosing and affording college. Not to mention, his advice can help you pocket tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Want to make a smart investment in this economy? Buy Debt-Free U."
-Farnoosh Torabi, financial expert and author of Psych Yourself Rich