In today’s world, we are all looking for bargains. How much can I save on this purchase? Is there a coupon for that item? The college decision process should be no different. You never want to pay full sticker price on a car, and you shouldn’t pay full sticker price for the college education. Here are just a few money saving tips on how to find the best college bargains.

Use online information to find the most generous colleges.

You can start your search by looking at the colleges who are generous with their financial aid by meeting the highest percentage of financial need. How do you find those colleges? It’s simpler than you might think. You can research them at the College Board’s site: Big Future. You need to follow the box at the bottom of the page that says “Find Colleges” and click the search button.

For a step-by-step guide, you can read The College Solutions Blog with photos of each step and how to use the tool.

Consider attending colleges that meet 100 percent of financial need.

Your dream would be for your student to have 100 percent of his or her financial need met. There are colleges who do this, but most of them are highly selective. Your best bet for your student to get into one of these colleges is to have stellar academic performance in high school and score well on the standardized tests. If your student falls into this category, you will hit the jackpot.

Visit thecollegesolution.com for a list of colleges and universities that meet 100 percent(or almost) of need.

Examine the salaries of their graduates.

Getting a college bargain doesn’t just end with the cost of the college degree. You need to know if the degree will be profitable after graduation. EducationData.org provides parents and students with the data they need to ascertain the following criteria: performance by college, performance by state, rank colleges by performance, and view national performance. Be leery of the data that colleges share with prospective students. It stands to reason that their marketing efforts will paint the best picture.

Choose the right college major.

I’m not asserting that you should pursue a college major simply for the promise of money at the end. For instance, if you decide to go to college as a STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) major and do poorly, you will be less successful than someone who chose to major in business, even though engineering graduates typically make more money than business graduates. But a little research will help you decide if you are inclined to be successful in the best paying college degrees.

Look for colleges that provide the most merit aid.

Don’t discount private colleges and universities. The National Association of College and University Business Officers found that 87 percent of private institutions give merit aid via scholarships to accepted students. And here’s the good news, there’s an online tool available that helps you find the schools that dispense the most merit aid at COLLEGEdata.com. Click on the “college match” tab. You will see the website’s search engine. Scroll down to the “financial friendliness” category and click “merit aid-include only students with financial need.” Then, you can sort the colleges from the schools that are the most generous to the least generous.

If you find yourself overwhelmed with the college process and would like a do-it-yourself guide to walk you through the steps, check out my Parent Crash Course. Every parent needs help now and then!