Hoping your child will get a full-ride to college?

That’s right up there with the tooth fairy.

Assuming you’ll pay more for a private-school education than a public one?

Now, that could be a myth.

College financial aid is filled with misconceptions and misinformation. Paying for a good college education isn’t easy – but it isn’t impossible. Experts say your success will more likely be tied to perseverance, flexibility and smart strategies than having a genius son or athletic superstar daughter.

Here are tips to help you plan, including the biggest, which, not surprisingly, is to start as early as possible:

Do the basics

File for financial aid. “Many families who could receive funding assume they won’t be eligible, so they don’t go through the financial aid process,” says Lynda George, director of student financial aid at the University of Kentucky. A range of factors figure into financial aid awards, including parental age and family size so even families with high incomes may be eligible for some aid.

Stay aware of financial aid deadlines. You may need a spreadsheet, but keep ahead of dates for filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the College Scholarship Service Profile, which is required by many private schools and digs deeper into your financial picture, individual college financial aid forms and scholarship applications. “Schools have their own deadlines, and they all vary,” says UK’s George. “Missing the priority deadline could be thousands of dollars lost.”

From the start, deal with complete costs. Parents often make the mistake of assuming a college’s tuition is its price tag when, in fact, it’s about half the total cost. To determine the real cost of attendance, figure in tuition, room and board, student fees, books and supplies, transportation and other costs.

Save money in the parents’ names, not the student’s. When the family’s expected contribution is calculated, money in the child’s name is assessed by 20 percent while money in the parents’ name is assessed by 5.65 percent.

Consider college costs in the context of your family’s complete financial picture. You do your child no favor in the long run by financing his education at the cost of a stable retirement for you or educational opportunities for your other children. Your child may have to scale down his choices, but you’ll both have the comfort of knowing the choice he makes will be sustainable and doesn’t compromise other important family financial goals.

When you do get an aid offer, remember to check to see if it’s for multiple years or only for a single year and if there are qualifiers, such as maintaining a certain GPA or performing so many hours of service.

Grandparents who want to contribute to their grandchildren’s college costs should wait until after the child graduates.

Shrink costs

Find out about post-secondary coursework while your child is still a high school student. That includes taking Advanced Placement courses, which some institutions will accept for college credit, or taking advantage of Ohio’s Seniors to Sophomores program, where students spend 12th grade on a college campus, earning credits.

Following senior year in high school and during every summer break from college, students can consider taking summer classes at a local college and transferring the credits to their regular school. “Get three of four in, and it’s a quarter or a semester,” says Andrew Hickman, vice president of Summit Financial’s college finance division. “If college costs $34,000 per year, you might be able to knock off $17,000.”

Consider three-year degree programs, or those that combine bachelor’s and master’s degrees in concentrated programs.

Having your child attend a community college or branch campus for the first year or two, then transfer to a more expensive four-year, residential school can save thousands.

Think outside the box on aid

Having two or more children in college simultaneously usually increases financial aid considerably. Some families are allowing the older child to defer college or stop out in the middle, thereby having a younger child enter at the same time – a tricky strategy dependent on making sure the older child completes his degree.

Don’t assume a private college is more expensive. Some private schools have built large financial aid funds from private donors. Also, students at private colleges are likely to earn a degree in four years while the average in public universities in Ohio is a little less than five years. Completing college on time – even at a more expensive school – could result in a lower cost.

Shop for the best package. A GPA and test scores that won’t land you scholarship money at a prestigious school might earn aid at a less selective school. By varying the types of schools to which you apply, you may move from a just-got-in to a highly recruited student.

Some colleges have raised the aid they give for service awards – in fact, some are for the whole shebang. These don’t go to students who paste on a dozen superficial volunteer activities but to those who have a substantial, sustained and often creative commitment to a particular cause.

For students willing to make a commitment to the military, there are appointments to the military academies and ROTC scholarships, which pay tuition and fees or room and board, along with money for books and stipends.

Keep in mind on-campus opportunities to make money or save college costs. There are part-time jobs, tutoring and research opportunities and dorm resident adviser programs that may save the cost of room and board – at some schools, up to $10,000.