<p>I read this article that came out yesterday by USNWR about some colleges offering discounts on tuition if parents pay early but I'm not really understanding what it means:
Duke</a>, Other Colleges On Sale Through June 30 - US News and World Report
Can any current Duke students provide some insight onto what this entails (especially for someone who is attending Duke this fall)?
Thanks!</p>
<p>There is a thread started by Sally on the financial aid page discussing the Independent 529 plan that the article refers to…</p>
<p>Wow, that’s some pretty crazy stuff. </p>
<p>If I understood the article correctly, it’s like the parents buying a futures contract on their child’s college education with a slight penalty for closing out the position without taking delivery.</p>
<p>I saw the USNWR article and did some follow up today. I spoke to the representative at Independent 529 and we ran an estimate based on hypothetically buying a Duke full tuition certificate for 2013/2014 today. To pay 2013/2014 tuition today it will be $38,151. The hard part is that you have to fund it before July 1 or the window of opportunity is gone.</p>
<p>This looks like a good option for my family as our daughter is starting at Duke this fall, so she will most likely still be at Duke come 2013. Even if she’s not we can get our money back with a worst case of of 2% per year loss. Best case on a withdrawal is 2% per year gain as I understand it.</p>
<p>I now have to see if I can move some things around enough to come up with that kind of coin (in addition to the bill that’s coming due August 1) without incurring penalties that wipe out the potential savings.</p>