Some financial-aid tips for relatively well-off families who hadn't been considering applying for aid but may now need it:

_ DON'T NECESSARILY ASSUME YOU'RE `TOO RICH' FOR AID. Colleges award hundreds of millions in merit scholarships (so keep working hard senior year) and at some schools, families earning well into six figures can get need-based scholarships, particularly if they have multiple children in college.

_ DON'T IGNORE FEDERAL OPTIONS. Unless your family earns under $50,000, you are unlikely to get any federal Pell Grant funding. But filling out the federal financial aid application (FAFSA) may still be worthwhile. Anyone, regardless of income, can get federal Stafford loans (up to $5,500 for freshmen, more in some cases), which are usually better than borrowing from a bank.

_ CONTINUE TO SAVE IN 529 PLANS. About two-thirds of 529 plan assets tracked by the College Savings Foundation are in portfolios that automatically become more conservative as college age approaches. If you're in one, either your investments were pretty conservative, or you have time to recover.

If not, you may have a lot less money for college than you expected. Don't expect your troubles will produce a suddenly bigger aid award. But keep this in mind: For most families, 529 savings have little or no effect on the contribution they are expected to make in the first place.

_ IF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE, ASK FOR MORE. Most need-based financial aid awards are based primarily on prior-year family income. If a family breadwinner loses a job, many colleges will try to adjust their aid awards.