Planning for college often sparks a mix of excitement and uncertainty. Your child might have a dream school in mind, or they may be open to new opportunities. Either way, figuring out how to finance higher education can feel daunting, but you can build a strategy with peace of mind using Private College 529 Plan. This unique plan lets you prepay future tuition at current rates for nearly 300 private colleges and universities, helping you protect your family budget from the rising costs of tuition without fear of market volatility. It also gives you the freedom to choose from a diverse range of schools when the time comes to enroll.
New Possibilities for Your College List
One of the best ways to begin is by exploring the colleges and universities that participate in Private College 529. Perhaps you’ve considered a handful of institutions already, but there might be a great match out there you’ve never thought of.
With the member college search tool, you can set filters that match your criteria. For example, you can filter for schools offering specific academic programs — such as architecture and business administration — plus hundreds of other programs. You can also filter schools by state, campus setting (for example city, rural, etc.), enrollment size, and acceptance rate. This simple yet powerful tool helps you cast a wider net and discover new colleges to add to your list of favorites.
Search tip: The data available in the member college search tool is self-reported by the colleges to the U.S. Department of Education. When searching by academic program, the options are exact program names. If your child is looking at performing arts, for instance, you’ll want to search all possible terms like acting, drama, and theater.
Plug in Your College, Visualize the Savings
After discovering some new options, the next step is to see how they fit into your family’s financial plan. This is where Private College 529’s savings calculator comes in. The tool estimates how much tuition you could prepay at any member college while locking in rates — and shows what your tax-free savings could look like.
Start by entering your child’s age, an initial contribution amount (this could be a rollover from an existing 529 account), and how much you can save monthly. You’ll then be able to choose a specific member college or, alternatively, use the average tuition price across all participating schools.
Just down the page, your results will appear in a graph. You’ll see how much tuition you have prepaid at the college, the future value of your prepaid tuition (the value is tied to annual tuition increases), and your tax-free savings. Use the slider to adjust your monthly contribution and see how that impacts your total amount of prepaid tuition.
It is important to keep in mind that the average private college or university discounts its tuition by 52% for undergraduate students, so you don’t need to cover all four years of tuition to help reduce future student loan borrowing. In the example below, just over one year’s worth of tuition at the average participating school is covered, but that could easily be half of the cost of a four-year degree after a 50% discount.
A New Outlook for the Future
This blend of tools is unique to Private College 529 Plan and will make your college planning that much easier. Whether your child is just a newborn or beginning the college process, Private College 529 helps you save on the cost of college. You can lock in today’s rates, protect your savings from market risk, and keep your options open. To begin, visit the member college search tool to explore nearly 300 participating schools. Then, take those discoveries over to the savings calculator to see what’s possible.
Please note that the calculator is for information purposes only and assumes the tuition rates in effect for that July 1 – June 30 enrollment period. Be sure to consult your tax professional for specific advice relating to your situation. By planning ahead and exploring all that Private College 529 Plan has to offer, you’ll be taking a significant step toward making the dream of a private college education both achievable and financially sound.
As an added bonus, for a limited time, alumni of member colleges can earn a match of up to $500 on their first deposit when they enroll in and fund a new Private College 529 Plan account for a beneficiary aged 15 or younger.
