When you open a GSP 529 Account, you will be asked to designate a Tuition Level on the enrollment form. When you designate a Tuition Level, you are choosing the type of school or specific school for which you are saving. However, you don't have to worry about making a wrong choice because you may change your selection at any time and the change is made retroactively. That is, your new Tuition Level will be applied retroactively to all of your prior unused contributions. As explained below, choosing a Tuition Level helps you know how much you need to save and how close you are to your savings goal.
You may choose from a wide range of Tuition Levels. Most participants in the GSP pick one of the following average Tuition Levels:
If your child ends up attending one of the Pennsylvania publicly funded schools, the Tuition Level will be automatically changed, if necessary, to correspond to the school being attended.
Each contribution you make to your account is converted into GSP Credits at the Tuition Level you select. Your contribution is divided by the GSP Credit Rate for your Tuition Level which yields the number of GSP Credits attributable to that contribution. Each time you make a contribution, this calculation is made and the number of GSP Credits accumulates. For most four-year colleges, 12 GSP Credits will cover a semester–enabling your child to take up to the maximum number of academic credits allowed by the school for a full time student (usually 18 academic credits). So, for most four-year colleges 96 GSP Credits will cover four years of tuition; for community colleges, you generally would need 60 GSP credits for an Associate's Degree.
Additional GSP contributions would be needed to cover other qualified expenses, such as mandatory fees, room & board, or books.
Your Tuition Level also determines the growth on your contributions. When used for qualified expenses, the value of your account will have increased at the same rate as tuition increased at your selected Tuition Level. (See the Disclosure Statement for a more complete explanation and the limitations on the guarantee.)