Re: #118, #119, #120
https://www.privatecollege529.com/OFI529/theme/pc529/learn-more/plan-details.jsp says:
The list of participating private colleges can be found on the web site.
Using this plan results in committing to a more restrictive list of possible colleges than with other 529 plans where the money can be used for any college.
Ok, got it, thanks for clarifying.
Adding to #121…Private College 529 is only for tuition and fees, so one has to have a separate savings vehicle (or not) and pay for room and board at current market prices.
This is far more similar to a state’s Prepaid Tuition plan. FL has one (I’m sure other states do too) where you can by college tuition at a state U at today’s prices. Great if you know you’re kid is going to stay in state (or it would require them to). We chose not to fund the state plan because we sensed early on that S would go out of state. We started saving when he was very young. These prepaid plans are great if you start 10+ yrs ahead of when the kid goes to school. Locks in tuition and fees.
SUrprised they were allowed to use 529 in the name as it has nothing to do with a 529 plan, which is a private after tax investment that grows tax deferred and can be accessed tax free for qualifying expenses. A real 529 plan is simply a tax favored investment.
That’s not what this is.
In Ohio privates compete with publics so cost is often similar after merit, or cheaper. My kids both applied to both but chose privates for financial reasons.
If you qualify for financial aid from private colleges, then the cost could be competitive or cheaper than public schools. For others, like myself, their kids wanted to go to specific private colleges, and they were very fortunate to get in. I, as a parent, never pushed my kid to attend a private college, and my attitude was: “Unless I feel very strongly that my kid is making a mistake, I am going to respect his decision.” In fact, I had good reason(s) to feel good about my kid attending UC colleges or Honors Colleges, had he chosen to do so, because there was a BIG difference between costs. Basically, I would have been happy for my kid, whether he attended a private or public.
For my current college student, it had to do with the majors available. His applications all went to private schools because he’s feeling a call to the ministry (and has been since mid-high school) and wanted to study religion from a Christian perspective, not a world religions or “what is religion, really” type of religion department, which is what the public college religion departments in our state schools were. (Note: He’s not majoring in religion, but his private school has a pre-ministry track that can work with other majors. That keeps his options open after graduation if he changes his mind about his career path.)
For my current junior, we’re looking at some state schools and some private schools. Her major is undetermined, but she has some very specific learning support needs that are driving the list. For my current freshman, we’ll probably do a mix of private and public, although he’s likely to be a STEM kid and qualify for the state scholarship money so we may look at public more for him.
It’s really about what the kid needs from the school as well as what the money looks like.
If you qualify for substantial need-based aid, and your child can get into schools that meet need, that is usually the best financial option, especially if you live, as we do, in a state with expensive public universities.
We just went with what would be the best fit financially. And schools that our kids had a good chance of getting into and would be a good fit. And that could be public or private…