Parents with prospective college freshmen living under their roofs have turned to hiring college coaches to help their children gain entry to their dream schools. These coaches are part advisor and part magician because they promise to boost your child's acceptance prospects well above the usual suspects of safety schools. Business Week recently reported that some parents pay up to $40,000 for these services. It's also not uncommon for parents to pay an average of $15,000-$20,000 to help their children gain coveted places in top-tier universities. So are these investments really worth it? Well, Clark admits that he has a big-time bias: He knows plenty of people who went to mediocre schools and have gone on to be very successful in life. So he believes that simply having a degree is a more important predictor of success than going to a particular prestige university. Of course many parents feel the opposite and want to get their children into a specific school. But Clark thinks it's crucial to just get the education and not worry about any particular school name being on the diploma.

One of the hottest areas of Clark's site is his 529 Plan Guide. He's now made his fourth revision to this invaluable resource so that you can continue being "Clark Smart" when saving for a child's education. The idea behind 529 Plans is that the money you save will grow tax-free and can be spent tax-free on college education. If the child doesn't go to college, you can transfer the plan to another child for free without being taxed. If there are no other children you want to have the money, you can use it yourself. But beware that you'll pay a 10 percent penalty plus tax if you take this latter option.

All 529 Plans must have state sponsorship, but you're not limited by where you live as far as making contributions. You may, however, enjoy a state tax deduction if you select your own state's plan. 529 Plans are great when they're purchased correctly. But a lot of money goes in the wrong way through commissioned salespeople, banks, stock brokers and financial advisors who take a cut of your money. You should buy 529 Plans directly through the state that sponsors them. If your state isn't listed in the "Honor Roll" section of Clark's guide, pick a state from his "Dean's List." There you'll see plans from Utah, Iowa and New York. These are the lowest-cost plans available across the board. Utah is by far the single best plan in the country. One of the most unique things about 529 Plans is that they're all very flexible. You can put in as little as $15/month or a rich grandparent can pop in as much as $60,000 all at once. One caveat from Clark: Do not save for your child's college education until you save for your own retirement. There are no scholarship plans for retirement!