oncerned parents start worrying about paying for their child's college education almost at the moment of their child's birth.

A college education is expensive and frightening, but with some forethought about what school your child might attend, you can afford it.

Stocks are a fashionable baby gift. Even the federal government wised up. They now promote their famous E Bond program, which allows parents to receive the interest, or capital gain, tax-free if the proceeds are used to pay for college tuition (and parents' joint annual income does not exceed $60,000 at time of matriculation).

For years, college costs have risen at rates higher than inflation. Those rates have fallen somewhat in recent years because a public backlash and several years of relatively modest inflation.

But the fact remains that four-year college education can cost more than $100,000. It's frightening, even if the parents started saving early on in their children's lives.

But, can things really be that bad? Won't every qualifying student go to college, if he or she wants to? The answer is yes, but without proper planning these students may have to compromise on the school they attend. Many Ivy League schools, including Harvard and Yale, do not give any non-needs based scholarships. An academically qualifying student, who is not eligible for needs-based aid, and whose parents have not saved wisely, simply cannot attend.

To meet your educational goals, you have to get a firm picture of the real cost of the colleges your child might attend. Colleges cost, on average, about $19,000 a year, according to the U.S. News & World Report and a survey of 1,600 institutions in the Peterson's College Money Handbook 1997. The average cost drops to about $8,300 when only publicly owned colleges and universities are considered.

But judging what college will cost based on cumulative averages is like buying your personal wardrobe based on the average size of people your age and height. It's not much help.

To get a more precise picture, you need to think about which school your child might attend. If your child is in the ninth grade or higher, select eight schools she or he may realistically attend and ask the office of admissions for the current cost. For younger children, you can get information on dozens of colleges from the Peterson book cited above, or by writing to several groups.

The differences in prices will astound you. For example, as of 1998, tuition at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., is $17,902. Charles Drew University in Los Angeles runs $3,510, while Yale University charges $21,000 and Ivy League rival Harvard weighs in at $20,865. To figure what the costs may be when your scholar is ready for college, use the Tuition Savings Calculator.

Typically, parents feel depressed once they see how much college will cost. Many think that they will have to bear the burden by siphoning away from their hard-earned savings accounts or by taking out second mortgages on their homes.

This is not necessarily so. The average cost of college once your child receives various types of financial aid makes it possible to pay for college without declaring bankruptcy. For example, the $19,300 it costs to attend Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., falls to $9,075 with the average aid package offered to its students. Princeton University's $22,000 price tag drops to $10,435 with the average aid programs.

Recent surveys report that the average family pays 30 percent of the typical public college costs. So, you don't have to give up hope, just a few vacations.