The state-run college savings plan will give the state’s newest citizens a head-start on paying for their higher education. State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald oversees the College Savings Iowa plan. Fitzgerald says they’re going to give a 400-dollar scholarship to the first babies born in the top 25 hospitals in the state. He says they gave out the scholarships last year and it was very popular.
Fitzgerald says it’s important to begin saving for college early. He says the last of his two kids just graduated from college and he can’t believe it. He says the time goes by fast, so you have to get started now. Fitzgerald says you can put just over two-thousand dollars per year, per child into the College Savings Iowa accounts and get a state tax deduction.
He says most people can’t put in the whole amount at first, but he says if you put in a little bit and add to it, it’ll grow faster than you think. Fitzgerald says the cost of a college education continues to increase. Fitzgerald says it’ll cost a baby born today well over one thousand dollars to go to a public college and over 200-thousand to go to a private school. For more on starting a College Savings Iowa account, surf to:www.collegesavingsiowa.com, or call 888-672-9116.