College

  • Reducing Your Out of Pocket College Costs

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    By Steve Dombrower, CFA
    Vice President, College Savings Plans
    OppenheimerFunds, Inc., Program Manager for Numerous 529 Plans
    March 7, 2013

    In my January 4th posting titled “You Can Afford College”, I talked about how with a little knowledge, planning, and the right tools, paying for college can be within reach. Specifically, we explored how savings is only one of several sources of funding you will use when the time comes to send your loved one off to college. In this entry, we will discuss how saving today can potentially reduce your overall out of pocket college costs.

  • You Can Afford College!!

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    By Steve Dombrower, CFA<
    Vice President, College Savings Plans
    OppenheimerFunds, Inc., Program Manager for Numerous 529 Plans
    January 4, 2013

    I’ll bet “You Can Afford College” is something you don’t hear very often. More likely than not what you’ve heard about paying for your child’s higher education includes things like continuously rising tuition inflation and adjectives like astronomical or impossible. Perhaps you’ve seen or have been presented with six figure numbers in terms of what you need to save making you feel like you just won’t be able to get there.

  • Give the Gift of College this Holiday Season:

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    By Hon. Michael L. Fitzgerald
    State Treasurer, State of Iowa
    December 30, 2012

    The New Year is just around the corner, which means it is a great time to start thinking about saving for your child’s future education. Rather than having friends and family purchase toys that will soon be forgotten or broken, invite them to give one of the most meaningful gifts a child may ever receive – help toward paying for a college education.

  • College on Your Wish List?

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    Smart Gift Giving this Holiday Season

    By Patricia Roberts
    Managing Director & Senior 529 Product Manager, AllianceBernstein L.P.

    November 20, 2012

    With Thanksgiving upon us and Black Friday and Cyber Monday soon to follow, gift giving is on the minds of many.  This is an ideal time to talk turkey about gifts for the children in your life.  

     

    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!

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    Why put college on your holiday wish list?

  • Trends in College Pricing

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    (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

  • Don’t Get Spooked by College Costs

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    By Jodi Golden
    Director, CollegeChoice 529 Savings Plans
    October 25, 2012

    It’s October so you know what that means – pumpkins, trick or treating, costumes and scary activities! For children, haunted houses and ghost stories from the past may scare them. Mom and Dad however, may be scared of the “what ifs” of the future: how will we save for retirement? Or for our children’s education? There are some scary tidbits out there:

  • More Families Are Using 529 Plans to Save for Higher Education

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    (Part 1 in a series based on the findings from the 2012 Mid-Year 529 Report)
    By College Savings Plans Network
    September 20, 2012

    Data collected as part of our 2012 Mid-Year 529 Report indicates that more families are using 529 plans than ever before. 529 plan assets reached record amounts as of June 30, 2012 with $179.02 billion invested nationally. This is an 8.6% increase during the first half of 2012.