In April 2015, CollegeAdvantage celebrated its 25th anniversary. In honor of this milestone, many longtime account owners shared their Saving Stories and how using CollegeAdvantage helped them achieve their goals. We are fortunate to have these encouraging stories of how families prioritized their children’s higher education and are sharing them again. 

I enrolled our son in the CollegeAdvantage program almost as soon as it became available. My husband and I researched the program and investigated similar programs in other states at the time. We felt we couldn't go wrong! Overall, the investment in this program was one of the best decisions we ever made for our son. He graduated from college, debt free! He is now able to put his income into brokerage accounts instead of paying college loans. He knows how lucky he is and is grateful for the insight of his parents.

I funded his tuition and room and board entirely from my earnings. As a teacher, I knew a college education was the best gift I could ever provide. It was a painless way to save for my son's future ... I had payroll deduction from my teacher paycheck directly to the fund. I never missed the money and oh how proud I was when I received my statements and watched the contributions accumulate.

This is a photo of our son at his graduation from the Columbus College of Art and Design. He is currently working in his field at head graphic designer for Lima Memorial Health System.

My husband and I have encouraged our nieces to set up the accounts for their children, and we have advised other couples with young children to do the same. In fact, I served as a volunteer ambassador to the program back in the early days because I believed in it so much.

Patricia Johnson

Lima, Ohio