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Prepaid Educational Savings Plans and Trusts (529, QTP)

Find out how to pay your bill using prepaid educational savings plans and educational trust funds.

Prepaid educational savings plans, also known as prepaid tuition plans or Qualified Tuition Programs (QTPs), are dedicated savings plans set up under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. The funds are set aside for future college costs, and are operated by individual states or educational institutions. Each state has set up one or more of these plans.

How it works:

An adult sets up and manages an educational trust account for a student's benefit. The account assets can become the student beneficiary's sole property at age 18 or 21, depending on how the account is set up. The assets are considered in the calculation of your family's financial need and may limit the amount of financial aid awarded to you.

Using educational funds from trusts and prepaid savings plans:

  • Funds from an educational trust or a prepaid educational savings plan is considered cash from the family, not a scholarship.
  • UCSD does not send separate student bills to trusts or prepaid plan agencies. You must provide the agency with a copy of your bill
    OR
    You can sign up the trust or plan agency as an authorized payer so your bills can be paid online.
  • If the agency pays by check, have checks sent directly to the UCSD Cashier's Office. See Ways to Pay Your Bill for details on how and where to send checks.
  • UCSD must receive trust or prepaid savings plan payments by UCSD's billing payment deadline to avoid late fees and/ or cancellation of classes.

Learn more:

Questions?

Contact Financial Aid's Scholarship Office, (858) 534-3263.