Biggest discount-VA edition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VA prepaid529 18 years ago for ~$37K is turning out to have been a pretty decent investment for his upcoming UVA freshman year. Sure we could have made more $ in the market, but we invested more into the invest529, which has done well.

Out of curiosity, what do you estimate the market value of $37K paid then to be today?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter got a pretty good size merit award from Mary Washington.

NP. What were your DD’s stats? MW is high on DD’s list and we need to chase merit, so I’m curious about others’ experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VA prepaid529 18 years ago for ~$37K is turning out to have been a pretty decent investment for his upcoming UVA freshman year. Sure we could have made more $ in the market, but we invested more into the invest529, which has done well.

Out of curiosity, what do you estimate the market value of $37K paid then to be today?

Off the top of my head:

If you had invested the $37,000 in an S&P 500 index fund in 2006 and reinvested dividends, its estimated value today would be approximately $202,450.

Comparison to Your VA 529 Prepaid Plan Investment:
529 Prepaid Plan Value: ~$92,472 (covering UVA tuition)

S&P 500 Investment Value: ~$202,450

Your prepaid tuition plan secured tuition at a significantly lower price, but investing in the stock market would have provided substantially more flexibility and a much higher return. However, market investments carry risk, while the prepaid plan guaranteed tuition regardless of market conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter got a pretty good size merit award from Mary Washington.

NP. What were your DD’s stats? MW is high on DD’s list and we need to chase merit, so I’m curious about others’ experiences.

UMW has a chart for merit aid. If you have XX GPA and/or XXX SAT, then you can get $XXXX merit aid.

[Anonymous]

See here:

https://www.umw.edu/admissions/in-state-merit-scholarship/

[Anonymous]

VCU gives a full ride for national merit finalists

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VA prepaid529 18 years ago for ~$37K is turning out to have been a pretty decent investment for his upcoming UVA freshman year. Sure we could have made more $ in the market, but we invested more into the invest529, which has done well.

Out of curiosity, what do you estimate the market value of $37K paid then to be today?

I think PP is saying the VA prepaid is worth $37k today? He probably paid a lot less. I know we did. We are getting a good deal on prepaid tuition for W&M next year. They stopped offering it for a reason!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VA prepaid529 18 years ago for ~$37K is turning out to have been a pretty decent investment for his upcoming UVA freshman year. Sure we could have made more $ in the market, but we invested more into the invest529, which has done well.

+1. Using VA prepaid 529 to pay for 8 semesters at W&M.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VA prepaid529 18 years ago for ~$37K is turning out to have been a pretty decent investment for his upcoming UVA freshman year. Sure we could have made more $ in the market, but we invested more into the invest529, which has done well.

What is this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VA prepaid529 18 years ago for ~$37K is turning out to have been a pretty decent investment for his upcoming UVA freshman year. Sure we could have made more $ in the market, but we invested more into the invest529, which has done well.

Out of curiosity, what do you estimate the market value of $37K paid then to be today?

I think PP is saying the VA prepaid is worth $37k today? He probably paid a lot less. I know we did. We are getting a good deal on prepaid tuition for W&M next year. They stopped offering it for a reason!

The prepaid is a good deal (we bought 8 semesters) but the market has done way better. In hindsight anyone would have been better off in the market. We hedged and did 8 semesters prepaid, the rest 529 invested (across 2 kids) and wish we had just invested it all. Oh well it’s fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VA prepaid529 18 years ago for ~$37K is turning out to have been a pretty decent investment for his upcoming UVA freshman year. Sure we could have made more $ in the market, but we invested more into the invest529, which has done well.

What is this?

A program that no longer exists for new investments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VA prepaid529 18 years ago for ~$37K is turning out to have been a pretty decent investment for his upcoming UVA freshman year. Sure we could have made more $ in the market, but we invested more into the invest529, which has done well.

Out of curiosity, what do you estimate the market value of $37K paid then to be today?

I think PP is saying the VA prepaid is worth $37k today? He probably paid a lot less. I know we did. We are getting a good deal on prepaid tuition for W&M next year. They stopped offering it for a reason!

No the VA Prepaid529 cost ~$37,000 18 years ago, and with interest, is maybe worth $45K now if we cashed it out and didn't use it for tuition. You couldn't have purchased it for less (4 years) that year, but it was as low as $25K several years before we purchased the contract. It was around $42 - 45K 2 years later when our daughter was born. Since our son is going to UVA, the value of our initial $37K when used for tuition and mandatory fees is around $92K.