The Best Way to Invest for a College Education

With all the talks of Educational IRA plans, 529 plans, student loans, educational trust funds and etcetera and etcetera, why not take on a more active role in your child's education? If you haven't already known, colleges provide financial aid to students based on need AND qualifications. Simply put, in addition to financial need, colleges usually give students who excel in academics, standardized tests and other skills and abilities more financial aid. For example, a student who has a 95 average (or a 3.9 GPA in a 4.0 scale) and a SAT score of 2200 (with extracurricular activities) will receive more financial aid than a student who has an 85 average and a SAT score of 1800 (with similar extracurricular activities) - assuming that both students applied to the same school. Instead of only worrying about how to invest for your children's college education, why not start investing in your children now? Make sure that they are going to class and doing all of their homework fully and diligently. Make sure that they are studying whole-heartedly for their exams. If they have trouble with any of their subjects, hire a tutor or find fellow classmates who are good in that subject and encourage your children to do after school study together. Tutoring for standardized tests is always a good idea. In addition to academics, try to discover what your children's interests are and hone them so that they can excel in them. For instance, if your child likes tennis, enroll him into a good tennis school. If your child does really well in the sport, then he (or she) might be able to get an athletic scholarship to the school of his (or her) dream. In addition to investing in your children, helping them choose which college(s) they want to go to is also very crucial. Some schools offer similar education for lower prices. For example, did you know that Rice University offers the same level of education as Harvard University for a lower price tag? Instead of attending Yale University, why not go to Cornell University? Yale is considered to be one of the top universities in the world. However, Cornell is also very prominent, and your children can attend for a lower price. Schools like West Point and Annapolis are for free and they offer top-tier Grade A education for all of their students. (Of course, as I am writing this, most of their graduates are being shipped over to the Middle East. However, if your children are willing to serve the country, then those schools are very good choices.) The possibilities are endless. Your children should never set their sights on only one school. I'd like to finish this off by saying that on top of your children's academics, you should believe in them. Instill a sense of confidence in them. This is more important that any academic endeavor they will ever face. If your children are facing other problems at school, such as social problems, problems with the faculty and other related matters, then you should try to help them resolve those problems. School isn't only about science, mathematics, social studies, etc. It's about learning. Learning about life and how things work in this world. So, by investing in your children, you not only improve their grades and standardized tests thereby reducing their college education costs in thousands of dollars, but you also help them develop into confident and intelligent adults.