There's a simple way to deal with the staggering cost of a college education by prepaying and saving a bundle. But you've got to act quickly.

If tuition continues to climb at 7 percents a year, it will top $100,000 in 18 years. That means a child born this year will have to pay that much to attend college.

But there is a way to beat the system. Sign up before the end of the month with the state's Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) Program.

Richard and Taylor Rogers of North Seattle have two kids -- Ella, a spirited 2 year old and William, who is just 7 months old.

The Rogers want to make sure Ella and William will be able to attend college no matter what the tuition is at the time.

But they want to know how expensive that can be. They're still paying off their college loans 10 years after graduation.

"Student loans are great and they allow you to get an education," said Richard. "But it would be nice to have something for our kids so they don't have to use student loans once they're ready for college."

And the GET program lets them do just that. With GET, the Rogers are able to keep pace with inflation by prepaying their kids' tuition.

"For me the biggest benefit is the flexibility of being able to contribute a little, or a little bit more or a lot depending on what our situation allows us at the time," said Taylor.

GET works on a unit system. A hundred GET units equal one year of resident undergraduate tuition and required state fees at the state's most expensive public schools, the University of Washington or Washington State University.

Buy one year's tuition - currently worth 100 GET units - and your child will have one year's tuition when it's time for college no matter what the tuition costs are at the time. And your investment is guaranteed by the state. You can buy one to five years' worth of tuition through GET.

Larry Lee, the deputy director of the state's program, says it's never too late to get started but urges parents to start early.

"Start young while time is on your side," he said. "The program is guaranteed. It takes the guesswork out of how to save or how much to save. Simply put the money in today and, in a sense, forget about it."

But what if your child decides to attend a school outside the state of Washington? Lee says that's no problem.

"You can use it at virtually any school in the country as long as it's an eligible school, eligible for financial aid. So you can use it virtually anywhere, including some foreign countries," he said.

Right now, four years of tuition through GET is $29,600. To lock in on that price, you need to sign up for the program by Friday, March 31. Chances are, the prices will go up when the enrollment period reopens in September.

By the way, GET is a 529 plan, which means your account grows tax-free and all withdrawals are tax-free as long as they are used for qualified higher education expense.

What happens if your child decides not to go to college?

The family can wait up to 10 years to see if the child changes his or her mind. You can transfer the account to another family member, use it for yourself or request a refund. This program is designed to give families a lot of options.

Normally the state charges fees and penalties for non-qualified withdrawals. The IRS will also assess a 10% penalty and the earning portion of the refund many be taxed as ordinary income.

There are two ways to buy GET units – lump sum and with a monthly payment plan. Choose the lump sum plan and you buy units at the current price. If you sign up by March 31st, any units that you buy between now and April 30, 2008 are $74.This price will adjust (and is sure to go up) on May 1, 2008. Choose the monthly plan and you lock in your monthly payment based on the current unit price, but pay a 7.5 % finance charge.

Note: there are 529 plans available from most states, but few have the backing of that state. Washington’s GET program is guaranteed by the state. Regardless of what happens to the financial markets or tuition costs, the value of your GET account will keep pace with the rising costs of tuition at UW or WSU.

More Information:

Washington's Guaranteed Education Tuition Program

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