Florida Prepaid 2016-2017 Open Enrollment is Now!

This post is sponsored by the Florida Prepaid College Board, through my role as a Believer Blogger. All thoughts are my own. 

The 2016-2017 Open Enrollment period for Florida Prepaid is underway! From now until February 28, 2017, you can purchase a Florida Prepaid College Plan for your future college student(s). For the third consecutive year, plan prices remain near historic lows, with plans starting for less than $47 a month. This is great news for Florida families.

Obviously I can’t say enough good things about the Florida Prepaid program – as I’ve mentioned a number of times, my parents paid for my college education with a Florida Prepaid plan, and I’m doing the same for my own children. But I’m not sure if I’ve ever shared what type of plans we purchased.

Waaay back in the 20th century (ha), my parents purchased a 4-Year Florida University Plan for me. This covered all of my tuition for 4 years at the University of Florida. This type of plan is still available, and it will pay for your child’s tuition at one of Florida’s 12 prestigious state universities.

I’d always hoped to purchase 4-Year University Plans for my own children. But when my older daughter was born in 2005, we had to make some tough financial choices. My husband was still in college working toward his engineering degree. And we were trying to make it work as a one-income family so that I could stay home with our daughter.

We ultimately decided to purchase a 2+2 Florida College Plan for our daughter. And when her sister was born 2.5 years later, we purchased one for her too. With the 2+2 College Plan, our children’s two-year tuition is covered at one of Florida’s 28 state colleges. Once they’ve earned their associate’s degree, they are then guaranteed admission to a state university, where two additional years of tuition are covered.

We didn’t make this decision lightly. The 2+2 College Plan has a number of benefits besides being a good fit with our family’s budget.

• There is a topnotch state college in our own hometown. In fact, Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) was recently ranked seventh in the state on OnlineCollege.com’s list of top colleges in 2016. (Other top 10 institutions include University of Florida and Daytona State College.)
• My husband received his associate’s degree from FSCJ and then transferred to a state university, where he graduated at the top of his class.
• With this plan, my kids will be able to receive a degree from one of Florida’s prestigious state universities for less than a typical four-year university degree
• Our girls will have the option of living at home for their first two (or more) years of college. This will save tons of money on room and board, and it will also help transition them to independent living a bit more slowly than if they start out at a university right after graduating from high school.
• If our daughters want to attend a university for 4 years, this gives them a greater incentive to work toward earning scholarships. If they do receive a scholarship (such as Bright Futures) the amount covered by the 2 + 2 Florida Plan – not just what we paid in – can be refunded or used to pay for tuition and fees not covered by the scholarship.

My point is that every plan has unique benefits – and that there’s a plan to fit just about every budget and family situation. You can learn about all of the available plans HERE.

Ready to enroll? Start HERE, then be sure to use this promo code to save 50% ($25) on your enrollment fee: BLOG1617.