Best Way to Save Money/Earn Interest for College?

Paying for College
1

(This is my first ever post, so I apologize if I do something wrong.)

I am going to be a high school freshman in the fall. Over the past year or so, I’ve saved up about 500 dollars that I want to use for college (this is in addition to whatever my parents have). Ideally, I’d like to eventually attend a top school (MIT, Stanford, CalTech). Obviously these are expensive, even with whatever scholarships I can get. Hopefully, I’ll be adding another 500 or so each year.

My question is, what’s the best way to save this money? I’ve been looking at this: https://www.privatecollege529.com/OFI529/PN/generated/en_us/PrimaryNavigation_03-26-10-092753.xml
but would it be better in a regular bank account?

2

Not to be a downer – it’s a good idea to save what you can – but there isn’t a lot you can do at this point (especially not at that rate) to save for college. 2000 total might cover books for one year and a fee or two. That’s it.

You need to realistically look at your family’s financial situation. Will you qualify for financial aid at those top schools? How much? What are your safety options (both academically and financially)? It’s too early to really determine the answers to these questions since you don’t have any high school academic record.

You should identify schools you can apply to in addition to MIT et al that will give you merit aid. There’s a thread pinned in this forum, and http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ details automatic merit aid.

But, to directly answer your question, I have part of my emergency fund shoved in a Growth account at PNC. Their APR is one of the highest I’ve seen (still abysmal, but that’s savings for you) if you have a certain amount of money + make debit card purchases.

Just make sure you’re approaching this from an “every bit helps” perspective and not “I can make a dent in college expenses this way” one.

3

Thanks for the help–I definitely realize that that amount isn’t going to get me much. But like you said, every bit helps. I’ll check into that PNC account.

4

A 529 account is likely better as far as your future FAFSA EFC.