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COLLEGE | Now is the time to fill out those maddening FINANCIAL AID forms.

FOR WELL-OFF but not wealthy parents of college students, January may seem even crueler than April. The financial-aid forms you file this month--the federal government's FAFSA and the College Board's Profile--are likely to tell you that you can afford to spend far more than you think you can on your child's college education.

The forms are used to compute your expected family contribution (EFC)--which is the amount you must come up with before qualifying for aid. Here's what you can expect.

A typical family of four with one student in college, household earnings of $80,000 a year, $50,000 in home equity and $50,000 in nonretirement assets will be expected to contribute about $10,000 next school year under the FAFSA formula (used by most public colleges) and about $11,000 under Profile (used by most private colleges). A second child in college at the same time will cut those numbers to about $5,500 and $8,000.

Income matters more than assets in determining a family's wherewithal. Add $20,000 to the income in our one-student example, for instance, and the EFC jumps to about $18,000 under both FAFSA and Profile. But another $50,000 in your portfolio adds just $2,500 or so to your expected contribution. Student income and assets add considerably to the family total because students are expected to fork over 50% of their income and 25% to 35% of their assets.

Use our calculator at www.kiplinger .com to zero in on your EFC. The gap between that amount and your child's expenses is the amount of aid you're eligible for. But don't expect free money. Nearly 60% of the typical aid package today is loans. So if college costs $30,000 and your family's contribution is set at $18,000, you might see a $4,000-to-$5,000 grant, but you'll be financing the rest with savings, current income and loans.

There are a few things you can do to tip the equations in your favor:

Use the student's savings for an educational or other necessary expense, such as a computer for school.

Reduce the balances in your checking and savings accounts by paying bills and making needed purchases before you sign and date the aid forms.

Convert consumer debt, such as a car loan or credit card balance, to home-equity debt, which will reduce your contribution under Profile but not FAFSA.