We're Open For Business!

Great news everyone,

We are once again open for enrollment for the 11th year. It’s an incredibly exciting time around here, as we have an entirely new pricing system in place, called SmartChoice. The new three-tiered system makes our program even more affordable to you. Three distinct choices with three different price levels comprise the new SmartChoice pricing options we are now offering. SmartChoice allows families to choose an affordably priced plan that best suits your financial and educational needs. Families can choose from the following options:

Choice 1 (Community College) consists of one to four semesters of community college tuition. Plans start as low as $35 per month.

Choice 2 (University) plans start as low as $39 per month and make one to nine semesters available at any public state university except the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).

Choice 3 (University+) allows for prepaid tuition of one to nine semesters at any public university in the state including the UIUC for as low as $58 per month.

We hope you’ll take a few minutes and check out all of what our program has to offer here. If you ever have any questions about the program, please contact us. We’re always happy to answer your questions.

Why 529 Prepaid Tuition is Better Than 529 Savings During Economic Crisis

Here’s the worst-kept secret in America:

The stock market is making it increasingly difficult for families to prepare for the future college costs of their children.

According to the Wall Street Journal, parents coast to coast are scrambling to move their college tuition investments into more conservative-based funds. In a this volatile market such a move makes sense, however, it is not easily accomplished. A little-known IRS rule limits 529 Savings Plans to only one investment change per calendar year. (Find out more about prepaid tuition vs 529 savings plans.)

Although the rule was intended to prevent investors from making knee-jerk reactions to varying market conditions, it is unfortunately having the adverse effect of painting some investors into a corner during this down-market period.

The simple solution?

Roll over your 529 Savings Plan into a 529 Prepaid Plan such as College Illinois! Once you have purchased your desired amount of semesters, you’ll never again have to worry about the stock market affecting your child’s ability to go to college, no matter how much the market worsens.

College Illinois! is truly the smart, secure way to pay for college tuition.

Wall Street Journal Says 529 Plans Will Weather Economic Storms

An article in the Wall Street Journal this week addressed how the financial crisis is making college planning tricky. But two financial experts also advised that 529 plans are still a good option, in both the long and short term.

Marta Norton, a senior mutual-fund analyst with Morningstar in Chicago, said, "The long-term appeal of 529 plans, despite all the painful losses in recent months, is still very much intact."

And Ray Loewe, president of College Money, a Marlton, N.J. financial-planning firm that counsels parents on college funding offered, "Even if college is imminent, the tax benefits of a cash-type, conservative 529-plan investment can make sense."

Consider for a moment what this expert analysis means: that when you select a 529 prepaid tuition plan such as College Illinois!, your investment in your child's future education is not subject to the success of the stock market at all!

Obviously the experts still believe in the benefits that 529 savings offer in both the long and short term, which means that there may have never been a better time to get started with a 529 prepaid account.

And when you seriously consider making an investment right now that has ZERO influence from the stock market, you’ll find that you start saving money and sleep much better!