<p>Has anyone used those payment plans where you make college payments for 10 months (or other number) instead of twice a year? What has your experience been with this?</p>
<p>We did it at two different colleges through AMS/Tuition Pay and it worked out just fine. There is an upfront fee of around $55 (may have gone up by now). There are a couple of things I didn't know about going into it that might be useful. First, the ten months start around June or July so if you start paying when school actually starts, you have to make a pretty hefty payment to catch up. Second, the plan includes tuition protection coverage which pays the balance if the bill payer dies (subject to some rules on preexisting conditions and age), so make the official bill payer of the family the one whose income actually pays the bills. Third, I never got around to doing autopay but I wish I had as I hated writing that giant check every month, especially when we had two kids in college.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. Since we will be paying a good part of our EFC from income, the monthly payment plan will be the way to go I think.</p>
<p>We also use Tuition Pay. It has been a much better way for us to parcel out these payments for two college students. We also do the automatic withdrawal from our account. That way "all" we have to do is make sure we have enough money IN the account when it is due.</p>
<p>We use Tuition Management. It has worked out very well. The first payment, I believe is May 1.</p>
<p>We use TMS as well. You can only adjust your budget once per term, which is OK as long as you are aware of it.
We signed up for the 12 month plan and will get our first bill in a week or so. But when we get the finaid award from my daughters school if I try to adjust her budget I can, but if she decides to change her meal plan before school school starts then I must wait until the second term to change the plan again. (This all happened last year.) So I paid quite a different amount before and after the budget was changed.</p>
<p>Tuition Pay with an automatic debit on the first of the month. Took a lot of the sting out of paying. In fact they're ready for me to re-up. I can't though because we won't see sophomore paperwork until June. So that catch up payment is gonna sting.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>In fact they're ready for me to re-up. I can't though because we won't see sophomore paperwork until June.>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Estimate. You can change it once the school year begins. We did that with Tuition Pay every year. Ask them...</p>
<p>I would like to use my credit card with tuition pay but I remember last year when I looked into it there was an extrfee or something. I ended just doing it from bank account. Does that sound familiar? Anyone out there using their cc (want to use it for mileage).</p>
<p>We have used FACTS. We will not use again, I'd rather get a loan for a year and pay it off with a little interest. They have continually botched my son's account and have wound up getting him on financial suspension, causing him to miss registration and getting shut out of a couple of classes he really needed. FACTS claims the problem is with the school, the school says it's FACTS. All I know is the money leaves my account and apparently goes nowhere.</p>
<p>TMS has a "convenience fee" if you use a credit card. It is becoming more common everywhere, because the banks are raising their fees.
The place where I work is charged approx $100 per month by the bank for every $2500 in credit card transactions.
If you were a college or tuition business taking in thousands of $ the fees would really add up. So they pass it on to you.</p>
<p>I found TMS to be very helpful in establishing monthly payments & also adjusting the payments quickly when our aid was adjusted.
The website is also easy to use and accurate.</p>
<p>I would not recommend using a credit card. There is a surcharge to do so, much in excess of any points you may earn by using the credit card. The auto withdrawal is excellent....all you have to do is have the money in the account on the right day.</p>
<p>thanks thumper1, I thought I remembered a surcharge. Oh well. Yes, I am on the auto withdrawl...</p>
<p>Has anyone used those payment plans where you make college payments for 10 months (or other number) instead of twice a year? What has your experience been with this?</p>
<p>Yes; one son's school uses Key Bank and the other TuitionPay. It saves us because we don't have that kind of money upfront. We've worked out a system where we deposit the money in 529 accounts (so that we get a state tax deduction) in time to take it back out to pay through the payment plans. It's tight, but working.</p>
<p>What state are you? I don't think my state gets a deduction for 529's last I looked. How long do you have to keep it in the 529 before you can withdraw it?</p>
<p>My daughters college allowed us to use our credit card with NO fee but from what I've heard that's the exception. With our son we've used tuition management and have done the ten payments. $60 annual fee for the pleasure of doing business with them. We were really able to rack up some airline miles with our daughters tuition charges - think that's the only bad thing about her upcoming graduation!</p>
<p>What state are you? I don't think my state gets a deduction for 529's last I looked. How long do you have to keep it in the 529 before you can withdraw it?<<<</p>
<p>We're in New York. The money has to be in the account 10 days before we withdraw it; we can deduct up to $10,000 a year off our state income tax this way.</p>
<p>Michigan gives a deduction up to $10,000 also, but not just a 529 plan. It must be a MET or MESP.</p>