There is so much information about college financing it’s hard to choose which Web site or book to read. But, as one well-worn Chinese proverb goes, “To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.”

In the case of paying for college, we’d want to ask Ben Kaplan, who amassed nearly $90,000 by winning more than two dozen merit scholarships, allowing him to graduate from Harvard in 1999 debt-free.

That successful experience certainly qualifies him to write “How to Go to College Almost for Free” (Harper Collins, $22).

He followed a step-by-step that Kaplan teaches in his book. In addition, he interviewed dozens of scholarship winners, judges and scholarship program administrators to find out what works best.

Most parents know they need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form – which, by the way, you should be submitting right now.

Students must complete this application to receive any federal student aid. Additionally, many schools use the FAFSA as part of their application for non- federal aid. You must submit the FAFSA every year that you want aid.

Billions of dollars in financial aid are distributed to undergraduate and graduate students in the form of grants, federal loans and work-study programs. Filing early can increase your child’s chances of getting free money.

While the financial aid process might start with the FAFSA form, it shouldn’t end there, Kaplan says.

Right about now is also the time when many scholarship applications become due. And yes, it’s hard to get scholarship money but not impossible. In fact, I love the section of Kaplan’s book that dispels many myths about merit aid.

“This myth stems from confusion between need-based and merit-based scholarships,” Kaplan says. “Merit scholarships, by definition, do not consider financial need.”

Another myth: Only students with high GPAs win merit awards. Not true.

“Most scholarship programs aren’t myopic,” Kaplan says. “They take into account that applicants have much more to offer than simply sterile grades that appear on their official transcripts.”

Now 29, Kaplan has taken on the moniker “America’s Scholarship Coach.” It’s an appropriate title given that his book reads like a high-energy pep talk.

“The scholarship game is not solely about winning college cash,” Kaplan writes. “The game is also about setting a goal, and being willing to do whatever it takes to reach it. It’s about not letting current financial circumstances dictate our destinies. It’s about accepting risk and having faith: the risk of putting yourself on the line, and the faith that comes with believing in yourself.”

See what I mean.