Just how much future tuition a deposit today buys depends on which college your child attends, the number of years until your child enrolls and the discount rate the college offers.

FORBES: Pay Now, Learn Later

Of course, the fact that college officials are willing to offer a discount on future tuition shows they believe they can earn more on investments than the increase in tuition.

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In the future, access to college may be nearly universal, with little or no tuition costs.

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Prepaid plans allow parents to make payments today for future tuition credits that they can use when their kids enroll in college.

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Fenaba Addo, a fellow at the University of Wisconsin, recently took a look at the mating habits of college graduates to determine if their tuition bill financing methods impacted their future romantic lives.

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Ryan's erudite budgetary lectures will alienate people facing such non-Randian, nonintellectual future realities as custodial care for aging parents, hospital bills for major illness, college tuition loans, and medical "vouchers" that don't match health insurance costs for the average retiree.

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