No one funding method will work best for everyone. The funding method(s) that may work best for you will depend on:

• Your investment time horizon: This is how much time you have to invest money until you need to begin paying tuition expenses (certain investments, such as U.S. savings bonds and Section 529 plans, work better for individuals with longer time horizons [5 or more years]);
• Your tax bracket: Those individuals in a higher tax bracket who wish to take out loans to fund tuition expenses may wish to consider leveraging the tax benefits of home equity loans; those in a lower tax bracket might benefit from the availability of certain types of grants and scholarships.
• Your student’s academic/athletic abilities: Students with excellent academic or athletic credentials may qualify for scholarships that will help to pay most or all of their tuition expenses.

Although not a funding method, there is a way to help keep college tuition expenses down –enrollment in a community college or state-run university. Students who attend this type of school for even the first year or two of undergraduate studies (before transferring to another college) can save thousands of dollars in overall tuition expenses.

There are some excellent books on how to fund college expenses, including The Standard & Poor's Guide to Saving and Investing for College (by David J. Braverman) and The Best Way to Save for College: A Complete Guide to 529 Plans (by Joseph F. Hurley). Of course, the Internet is also an excellent resource for college funding information and ideas.