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[quote=Anonymous]Figuring out whether you are paying an inflationary amount or "today's tuition" price is a little more complicated b/c the cost of state universities in Va is not the same across the board.  For instance, Tuition at GMU is $9266.  UVa is $11,576, Va Tech is $10,509, and William/Mary is $13,132.

The cost of a prepaid plan for the season that just opened up (for a younger child, K-4th) is about $13,300.  So if your child goes to William and Mary, you are actually paying today's prices.  For the other schools, you are not paying today's prices, but, these pre-paid plans are going up about $500/year.  On average, the cost of a year of Va. tuition is about $11,000 (presently) and you are paying $13,300 in the pre-paid plan for that year of tuition ... but you know that it is guaranteed to be covered (it's in the plan).  You aren't really locking in "today's prices" but you are locking in the price that you will have to pay for tuition.

It wasn't until I started looking at the cost of "out of state tuition" at nearby states that I realized there was no way we'd be paying $30,000 for my kid to go to UNC or UMd. as an out of state student if I could pay $13,000 for essentially the same education.  And so, we made the executive decision that our kids will have enough choices to get them a solid college education in our state, and that's where we're putting our money.

To me, an undergrad degree is pretty much the same wherever you get it.  The pedigree matters more for graduate studies, so we can cross that bridge when we get to it.  But, my kids are going to Va. undergrad schools (unless they want to take out loans for private or out of state options -- which I will advise them not to do, but they would have that choice).  [/quote]

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