This paper examines the problem of collecting financial data on aid applicants. A 10% sample (12,383) of student records was taken from the 1968-69 alphabetic history file for the ACT Student Need Analysis Service. Random sub-samples were taken in certain phases of the study. A relatively small number of financial variables were found to predict parents' expected contribution to college expenses effectively. Best predictors were the Federal Income Tax paid by the parents and their non-taxable income; the best asset variables were investments, the net value of a farm , business, or real estate, home equity and savings. The computation of parents' expected contribution using combined variables was compared to the computation of financial need in the current ACT system. The relation between base year and estimated year income was also analyzed. It was found that students from low income families tended to report higher estimated year incomes than base year incomes, while the reverse was true for students from high income families. (Author/AF)