Florida prepaid college sales set record for first week of enrollment

Sales of Florida’s prepaid college tuition plans set records during the first week of open enrollment, with purchases tripling over the same period last year.

The Florida Prepaid College Board attributed the increased sales to lower prices, a new cheaper plan, waived application fees and a statewide publicity campaign.

A total of 6,031 plans have been sold since this year’s enrollment period began Oct. 15, an increase of 208 percent over last year’s 1,959.

The five plans allow families to save for college with monthly payments ranging from $43 to $173.

The price of the most popular option — the fouryear university plan — dropped by half this year, from $53,729 to $27,379, or from $350 to $173 a month. That ’s the lowest price since 2008-09.

The cost of a 2 + 2 plan, which covers two years at a state or community college and two years at a university, also fell from $35,959 to $21,445. The price for a four-year plan at state colleges, formerly known as community colleges, remains the same at $18,144.

New this year is a oneyear university plan that allows families to pay the cost of up to four years at a state university — but in oneyear increments. That plan starts at $43 a month.

Application fees will be waived for new plans bought by the end of 2014.

About 18,000 families who had previously bought more expensive plans will share about $200 million in refunds, officials say. The families getting refunds are those who bought plans from 2008 to 2014 that included a “tuition differential fee,” a supplemental cost to cover the additional tuition universities were charging on top of what the state set.

For years, universities were raising their tuition by 15 percent annually. Prepaid calculated its prices in recent years based on the assumption those hikes would continue. Families have until Feb. 28 to sign up, a month later than in the past. For details, go to the Florida prepaid website at myfloridaprepaid.com.