Upromise.com, Florida Prepaid College Plan or Others

[colegiala]

Someone mentioned the Upromise plan on the Bargain Alert Forum, I only knew about the Florida Prepaid 529 College Plan(live in FL). Please, Feedback on either or other Pre-paid college plans would be appreciated. My DD in only 6mo old, but would like to make a decision on one soon. If there's a better place to post this subject please lmk.
Thanks,
Gaby

[jd11365]

I did the FL Prepaid. I feel good knowing the tuition is covered, and I'm thankful we have such a program here!

[JTsMom]

**** ETA Jamie's right, I'm wrong. I don't know how I missed that! Back to the drawing board for me!


We've been looking into these for DS as well. There are 2 types of 529's- pre-paid or the ones that are used for investment but can be used anywhere.

Personally, I would NEVER use a pre-paid b/c if your DC decides to go to school in another state, you basically will make nothing over the 18 years you've had that money invested. Sure, you'll get the money back, but it won't have earned interest, which is very important. If you are 100% positive your DC will go to school in that state, then they are great, but who can guarantee that?

We're planning on doing a regular 529- probably Florida's. You can use the money anywhere that way.

Bankrate.com has some really good articles about investing for college. That is where I got most of my info.

[jd11365]

Not true. You get what your state would provide for their in-state fees, and you would pay the difference in out-of-state fees. So, for example, if Kayla decides to go to the University of Maryland, she would get in-state fees from Florida and have to pay the difference in what UM charges for out of state fees. That will be her responsibility. As far as I'm concerned, I provided her with a college tuition, and feel thankful and comfortable with that. We have some great state schools...FSU, UF, Miami...and if she chooses to go elsewhere she will still have a lot of $ toward that.

[Lynnie]

We did the FL pre-paid too, both as soon as the kids were born. I am considering it to be insurance of sorts. We are going to save elsewhere too, since I admit I kinda hope at least one of them goes to a private, out of state school, but I feel good knowing that at least something is covered already.

Florida's plan is very cheap compared to Virginia's and some other states (Gpa lives in VA and was checking it out), so it wasn't too big a nut to put away. And, like one of the PP said, if one of the kids doesn't go to a fla school, they'll get the cost of in state tuition at a fla school to transfer to wherever they go, not just the original money back.

I have also heard it is good to try to save in the parent's name, rather than the child's, in order to have the child qualify for more financial aid. Of course, I always thought the idea of saving for college was to avoid financial aid, but with the prices of alot of colleges these days, I guess that is often wishful thinking.

I think the deadline has passed for this years FL pre-paid, but that means you'll have lots of time to research ! good luck !

[karolyp]

I believe the deadline for the FL pre-paid is in September

[floridamommy]

Hi, I am a Florida mommy who had DD in November 2005...what do you mean by the deadline passed in September? Any guidance will be appreciated...looks like I need to start doing some research on this. I guess it is never to early to start...although right now, we are trying to focus on one day sleeping through the night and getting rid of the colic....college seems light years away. :) :) Even so, I am going to start looking into college plans more this week. I was born and raised in Florida, but went out of state for undergrad (UNC-Chapel Hill)...so I guess I need to consider the in-state and out-of-state possibilities. Thanks for starting this helpful thread! Heather

[Lynnie]

By deadline, I mean to get the price for this year's tuition. I have no idea if its september or the end of January, but for some reason I thought it was the end of january. Just found this from a google search: (FWIW, we only paid tuition, not fees and room and board, so it was easier to do now. I may go back and add fees next year.)

Jan 31, 2006 7:37 am US/Eastern(CBS4 News) MIAMI Today is the deadline to save money on your children’s college education.

5 p.m. is the deadline to sign up for the state's prepaid college Plan, which could save parents tens of thousands of dollars.

The program lets you lock in today's rates at any Florida Public University or community college.

Auditors for the state are projecting that in 18 years, the cost of a four year education at a state school will cost more than $93,000 dollars. But right now that cost is a little more than $28,000.

Florida has sold about 55-thousand contracts during the current enrollment period. The next enrollment period won't open until October and prices will probably increase.

How does it work?
Pay a set amount in advance and tuition will be covered later, no matter how much it goes up.

Where can it be used?
A Florida Public University or community college, depending which plan a family buys. It also can be used toward tuition at accredited, not-for-profit private colleges and universities.

What does it cost?
Depends on child's age and family's choices (lump sum or installments, community college or university, tuition only or tuition plus room and board, etc.)

Does it guarantee admission?
No. Students with prepaid tuition apply alongside everyone else.

Who can buy in?
Any U.S. citizen or legal resident over 17. The student must live in Florida, but the buyer doesn't have to.

Who runs it?
The state-sponsored Florida Prepaid College Board.

How safe is it?
Administrators invest to keep pace with tuition increases, and they expect to be able to do so throughout the foreseeable future. State law says the program can be ended only if it's not financially feasible. If that happened, college costs still would be covered for children within five years of starting college. Other families would get refunds with interest.

When can I sign up?
Until 5 p.m. January 31st. After that, families will have to wait until fall, when prices may be higher.

[karolyp]

Yep, the deadline is when you can sign up to lock in prices for that year. Next year the prices will go up. When I first started looking at this plan it was in 2004 and the deadline was either in September or November (I can't remember) and I assumed that they would have the same deadline every year, but I guess I'm wrong!