Start your baby’s college fund now!
IT’s many parents’ dream, from the moment their children are born, that they will someday be smiling for happy college graduation photos. But even as many parents prepare their children for college by ensuring that they meet the matriculation requirements for each step of the education process, not many think about funding this journey until it’s too late to do anything other than apply for student loans.
But executive director at the National Parenting Support Commission, Dr Patrece Charles-Freeman, admits to her own mistake of not adequately preparing financially for her first son’s college education. She advises parents to be realistic, and to realise that the financial demands of a college education require early saving.
“I was totally unprepared with my first son who is currently finishing up his first degree overseas, but I was lucky because he did well enough to secure a scholarship. But even these are hard to come by, and no matter how well our children do, they won’t all be able to get them, so we have to start – I would say as early as they start primary or preparatory school,” she advised.
She said she almost fell into a similar trap with her second son who will soon be matriculating, but as she was determined not to be bitten a third time, she has started a savings plan for her third son.
“For my second son who is now in sixth form, I started too late as well. I started when he was in fourth form, which would mean that I could only cover a year of his education , so I am being positive and hoping for a scholarship. As for my third son, who is in the sixth grade, I started saving for him when he was in the third grade, so I am more confident that I will be able to fund his education with ease,” she said.
She pointed out that when saving, parents must be disciplined and should explore the best savings plans that will offer the best returns.
“When saving for your children’s college education, you want to shop around. I know that Sagicor has a plan, [Jamaica Money Market Brokers] JMMB also has a plan, and [National Commercial Bank] NCB has their Omni [Educator] plan which is for this specific purpose. You also want to consider other things such as making sure it is so secure that you are discouraged from taking from it before the time comes; make sure there are no penalties for not paying on time or being able to make a month in case of emergencies, and seek the ones with attractive incentives such as those that may double what you have saved,” Dr Charles-Freeman advised.
She also encouraged parents that no amount of money is too small to save, because every dollar will matter.
“No matter how small it is, just save it because there are so many other things than tuition. We have to think about books, food, boarding, transportation costs and other miscellaneous fees. I also must encourage parents to try, if possible, to save in US dollars because its value is less likely to decline.”
Meanwhile, CEO and founder at Aim Educational Services, Nicole McLaren-Campbell, said that having first-hand knowledge of the rising costs associated with funding tertiary education, she would encourage parents to start saving as soon as they are born.
“College tuition has been rising at a rapid rate over the past few years, so I would tell parents to start saving for their children’s tertiary education almost as soon as they are born. I confess that I just started dedicated savings for my kids’ education this year; they are five and three years old and I have some catching up to do, but better late than not at all,” McClaren-Campbell said.
