Washington College to award scholarship match to 529 plan contributions

http://www.savingforcollege.com/articles/washington-college-to-award-scholarship-match-to-529-plan-contributions-965

Washington College will begin offering a first of its kind scholarship that matches the amount paid into tuition, so long as those funds come from a 529 savings plan or Coverdell Education Savings account. The new “Saver’s Scholarship” is being piloted to qualified students in the forthcoming academic year. It will match up to $2,500 at Washington College towards prior year tuition payments. This means that the 2016-17 amount will be credited to the students’ financial aid awards in 2017-18.

While there are many programs nationwide to help students both borrow and pay down debt, there are no programs that provide a match of this kind from the school. It will be interesting to see if other higher education institutions follow suit, because there is tremendous appeal in making your 529 contributions go twice as far with a school.

"While we understand the need for some students and families to borrow responsibly to pay for college, Washington College also wants to support those who have set aside money for higher education," Washington College President Sheila Bair says. "This new scholarship is designed to reward that foresight and to encourage more such savings."

In order to qualify for the scholarship, students must maintain continuous full-time enrollment, and use funds from a 529 or Coverdell account that has been established at least three years prior to enrollment to make tuition payments.