Saving for College
Post-secondary education is a key form of asset building. A college education results in a well-documented increase in lifetime earnings; it can also prevent the intergenerational transfer of poverty. At the same time, low-income families in Massachusetts, which boasts the seventh highest average tuition for a four-year public institution in the United States, face considerable financial barriers to college. Poor and working class families in Massachusetts must devote 49% of their income, after financial aid, to pay for costs at public four-year colleges in the state.
Through education and outreach, Compass promotes low-income families’ access to and investment in 529 college savings plans, which offer an affordable but powerful means to save for college. In addition to helping families save for the net cost of college, college savings plans have a significant impact on low-income students’ aspirations and expectations about college. Recent research documents that low-income children with college savings accounts are more likely to attend college and to do better in school.
Compass is also leading a broader advocacy effort to examine how Massachusetts' 529 college savings plan can strengthen its outreach and marketing in low-income communities and incorporate account features that would increase participation by low-income families. Our work builds on, and contributes to, an emerging national dialogue about the importance of promoting children's savings accounts.
If you are interested in learning more about opening a college savings account, please contact Rachel Page at 617.790.0810 or rpage@compassworkingcapital.org