YOUR COMMENTS

RE Crisp's comment, even 529 plans have been hit considerably by the recent financial crisis. And families across the country are realizing that 529 plans are not as versatile as they originally were touted.

This is why students across the country are sidestepping a lot of college expense by take CLEP and DANTES exams in place of actual courses. I used this process and got my degree in English for around $10k. And all that without a 529 plan;-)
- Shawn Cohen, San Antonio, TX

WOW! What an unbiased story UL. Gee, Fidelity offers expert advice and tells us to invest in their 529 program. Where have you been, UL. Listening to these investment people got us the crisis we are in now. Go ahead, throw your money away with Fidelity. Pretty soon these investment idiots will be telling us that surveys, studies, etc. indicate college will cost one million a year so start saving! You know who wins and benefits from the 529 plans? Not the parents, not the students - only the Fidelity's of the world.
- Crisp, Bow

I have a Fidelity-managed NH 529 Unique plan. I was surprised to learn that the UNH billing office never heard of it, and there is no easy way to transfer $ from the plan to the college. Fidelity requires you to sign a form and mail it to them. Plus, the plan should be in money markets right now -- I've been using the money for my daughter's college expenses for 2 years. But the recent stock slide wiped out all of the earnings for the past 7 years and is now eating into the principal. So much for "investing" the college money!
- KenW, Kingston