CollegeAdvantage, founded in 1989, has been around long enough that children whose parents saved for them, now have their own children and the now grandparents continue to save in CollegeAdvantage 529 accounts for future college expenses. The Raabs are one such family of generational college savers.
Without a doubt, my husband and I both agree that putting our two children through college through the CollegeAdvantage program was the best financial decision we've ever made! We believed in the program so deeply, and we told everyone we knew about it! To this day, we continue to brag about our wise decision to utilize the CollegeAdvantage program!
My husband and I are both graduates of Ohio State. He is a Veterinarian, and I am a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. It was a high priority of ours to save for our children's college education. The problem was, we didn't have much money. We went to an informational session in our community on the CollegeAdvantage program and we thought it was something we could afford if we worked on it little by little. In the beginning, it was a struggle. We often put our own savings on hold in order to pay into the program. Whenever grandparents or relatives gave us money for the girls for holidays or birthdays, we put it in the CollegeAdvantage account. Our girls were 3 and 5 years old when we began saving and it took us 14 years to fund their entire education, but it was well worth it for them to have no college debt! We were so proud of ourselves when we achieved our goal!
Our oldest daughter was a Valedictorian and she went to Miami University. She graduated in three years summa cum laude in Botany. When she went on for her Master's degree in Environmental Science at Cleveland State University, she still had a full year of tuition she could use to pay for her graduate education! Having her first job and a new apartment, she had minimal funds and these savings served as a Godsend to her! Currently, she is an Environmental Specialist with the NE Ohio Regional Sewer District in Cleveland.
Our youngest daughter went to Ohio State and graduated in Nursing. Interestingly, she became good friends with a girl whose parents also participated in the CollegeAdvantage Program! She has her Master's Degree and works as a Nurse Anesthetist at Deaconess Hospital in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
We have a grandson now, and his first birthday is fast approaching! Our most important gift to him will be the opening of a CollegeAdvantage savings account for his future education. WE BELIEVE!!!!!!
Mary Raab
Waynesville, Ohio
