Sending your kid to Harvard may be more realistic than you think. The school has expanded aid to middle and low-income families. This comprehensive guide can also point you in the right direction if you’re trying to wend your way through the minefield of college applications and financial aid. Of course, the kid has to stay on top of things in school. If that isn’t working refer to I Wanna be Sedated, a collection of essays written by parents of teens. Seriously—this book will help you realize people do get through this.

Hip-hip for Harvard, but realistically, as Tamara Draut shows in her book Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30- Somethings Can't Get Ahead, the prospects for academically qualified young people completing a four-year college degree are very dim. This is linked with lower earning potential, finding affordable housing, growing indebtedness, and the cost of having a family. With the reduction in manufacturing in America, higher education has become essential. Also, how universities are changing is explored in The Creation of the Future by Frank H.T. Rhodes, President Emeritus of Cornell University.