The information on costs and financial aid that colleges provide prospective students is often confusing and sometimes misleading, the College Entrance Examination Board said in a report released yesterday.

The report states that financial information is often too complicated for students to base valid decisions on, and that students often do not understand the real cost of the various options they face.

Schools do not provide prospective students with many important details of college costs, such as the number of meals included in a board contract, living expenses, total annual costs, and scholarship durations, the report said.

Janice Gams, a spokesman for the College Board, said yesterday the report tries to emphasize the problem of bad or misleading information but does not conclude that many colleges are purposefully "covering up" information.

Gams said a Boston Globe story yesterday that said the report shows colleges "cover up" cost information is "misleading."

Gams also said the College Board's report had only "speculated" about the possible causes of the faulty information. The report states that some colleges may obscure some information for "strategic, policy, or procedural reasons."

Gams said the group based the report on a survey of 5000 college students polled during the past 18 months. The survey found that 57 per cent of the students would have applied to different schools if they had had better financial aid information.

Part of the problem is because the federal government does not now require colleges to provide students with accurate and complete information, Gams said.

She added that a federal law that will go into effect July 1 will force all colleges receiving federal grants for student aid to provide such information.

We're OK

Harvard tries to give prospective students an accurate picture of college costs and financial aid, Seamus P. Malin, director of financial aid, said yesterday. He added that the introductory booklet that all prospective students receive contains estimates of costs and financial aid packages.

Each student's letter of acceptance contains an exact statement of cost, he said.

The report probably refers to smaller private colleges that do not have as much money for student aid as Harvard does, Malin said. He added that Harvard does not have a problem getting applicants, though smaller colleges might face such difficulties.

Malin said he has "no sympathy" for those who use purposefully misleading information.

The "bad attitudes" that such a misleading policy would produce could harm a college in the long run by reducing financial support from alumni, Malin said.