CollegeInvest Can Help You Make College Happen

A college education is a precious gift
And it can be expensive. For most families, making that gift requires foresight and planning. Saving for college is one of the best ways to help make college possible, and experts agree 529 savings plans are one of the best ways to save for college. But, there's a lot to think about, and we're here to walk you through it, step by step.

So where do you start?
There are generally four primary considerations when looking into a 529 college savings plan:

• What is your savings goal?
  How much could your child’s education cost? Are you paying for all of your child’s education expenses, or just a portion? Use our College Savings Calculators and compare projected costs at colleges, universities, and vocational schools nationwide to help determine your savings goal.

• What is your time horizon?
  Most children enter college around age 18. Depending on the current age of your child, you may have a longer or shorter period of time to reach your goals and this has a direct impact on how much you save and the best savings options to get there.

• How much are you willing to save?
  Consider the following questions: Do you have a lump sum amount to get started? Do you want to save on a regular basis, and how much are you able to save on a regular basis? Do you plan to add bonuses or other single amounts as you go forward in time? Use our College Savings Calculators to project how certain levels of savings can accumulate within your planned time frame.

• What is your risk tolerance?
  Are you comfortable making investment decisions on your own, or do you prefer to have guidance into making those decisions? Do you find it easy to ignore large market fluctuations? Or, are you more willing to forgo some earning potential in exchange for less relative risk? Take our Risk Tolerance Questionnaire to help determine your tolerance.

Once you’ve thought through the questions and have a feel for what you need to consider, follow these steps below to learn about each of our plans, the benefits they can offer you, and the enrollment process.

Step 3: Compare CollegeInvest’s 529 plans
Take a side-by-side look at the four plans CollegeInvest offers, and compare them across various features and benefits.
» download

Step 4: Select a plan that best fits your family’s needs
Now that you have had a chance to review and compare the different CollegeInvest 529 plans, you should feel comfortable in the plan you would like to open. But before you start the enrollment process you’ll want to review the Enrollment Checklist in Step 5.

Step 5: Review the Enrollment Checklist
The checklist covers who the account owner and account beneficiary will be along with having the right information handy while opening an account.
» download

Step 6: Now it’s time to enroll into the plan you have selected
The enrollment process is simple and fast now that you have gone through steps 1-5. It should only take about 10 minutes to enroll. There are a few options for enrolling, online, by mail or through a financial advisor.
» enroll online
» request an enrollment kit
» find a financial advisor