By Lynne N. Ward
Executive Director, Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP)
November 28, 2012
One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to saving for college. Your family has unique needs, means, and goals, and your family needs a unique college savings blueprint.
Fortunately, you have lots of options, especially among 529 plans. Two of those options are 529 Prepaid Tuition Plans and 529 College Savings Plans.
Smart Gift Giving this Holiday Season
November 20, 2012
Many college savings programs have tools in place that make it easy for account owners to invite friends and family to contribute to already-established accounts. Account owners should check with their 529 plan to determine what tools exist to invite others to contribute, such as deposit coupons that can be printed and shared. A few plans even have paperless tools enabling gifts to be made electronically!
(Part 2 in a Series on the College Board’s 2012 Trends in College Pricing & Trends in Student Aid)
By Joan Marshall
Executive Director, College Savings Plans of Maryland
November 9, 2012
I am often asked by parents about whether their college savings will reduce their children’s future financial aid. My initial response is that – with student loan debt today surpassing credit card debt – it is generally in a family’s best interests to save whatever amount they can afford for college in order to reduce or maybe even eliminate the need to take on burdensome levels of future student loan debt.
(Part 1 in a Series on the College Board’s 2012)
By Mary Anne Busse
Managing Director, Great Disclosure LLC
November 2, 2012
The College Board recently came out with its 2012 Trends in College Pricing and it’s chock full of great information – some good news and some not so good news. According to the report, published prices for tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities increased 4.8%, the smallest since 2000‑01. For prospective college students, that’s great news! Unfortunately, the report also found that “the growth in published prices at public four-year institutions has been higher over the past decade (averaging 5.2% per year beyond inflation) than over either of the two preceding decades.”1