Your contributions are set aside in a separate trust fund.

All Program assets from contract holders are held in the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund and kept separate from State public funds. By law, plan funds can only be used for paying benefits on behalf of contract holders and for the costs of running the Program.

You're not tied to the stock market.

The value of your College Illinois! Plan does not go up and down according to stock prices or the bond market.

You benefit from state tax advantages.

This includes 100% tax-exempt earnings and an Illinois state income tax deduction up to $10,000 ($20,000 per couple) in the year that you contribute.

The Plan is in the purchaser's name.

This means that you have control over the contract from initial purchase to graduation.

The Plan is flexible, and adapts to whatever life brings.

If your student receives a college scholarship, any unused benefits can be held for future use or transferred to another family member. Or the value of the unused benefits can be refunded to the purchaser on a semester-by-semester basis up to the amount of the scholarship. Also, the beneficiary has 10 years from their projected enrollment date to start using benefits and 10 years from enrollment to finish using the prepaid tuition benefits.

Transferring ownership is okay.

You can designate a new owner for a plan at any time—although you cannot sell it or pledge it as collateral for a debt. And by naming a successor purchaser, you can transfer it upon death.

You can transfer the plan from one child to another.

You can change the beneficiary and transfer unused benefits to another member of the beneficiary's family, as defined by the Internal Revenue Service to include virtually any relative of the designated beneficiary.

When benefits can be used.

Benefits are available for use three years after the first payment due date. The plan must be paid in full prior to the use of any benefits. This may require accelerating the payment schedule or making a lump-sum payment prior to enrollment if, for example, a student were to enroll in college earlier than expected.

Contracts and Semester Hours.

Each semester purchased is the equivalent of 15 semester hours. Semester hours can be converted into quarter hours and trimester hours for those institutions operating on a different schedule.

Application to Undergraduate and Graduate Study.

A College Illinois! Prepaid Tuition Plan is intended to cover tuition and mandatory fees for full or part-time undergraduate study. While College Illinois! did not offer plans specifically for graduate study, benefits can be applied toward graduate study tuition and mandatory fees.

Benefits transfer.

Benefits can be used at more than one school if the student transfers to another school during their college career. Additional costs may apply.

Entering college later is okay.

You are allowed to hold on to a contract, even if the intended beneficiary doesn't enter college in the year you anticipated. The beneficiary has 10 years from the expected college enrollment date to begin using benefits.

Your student always has the flexibility to attend the eligible college or university of their choosing!

You can use benefits at all Illinois public universities and community colleges even if they are not specifically covered within the plan type you've purchased. For example, if you purchased a Choice 1 Community College Plan and your student chooses to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), you can use the value of those benefits to reduce your tuition costs at UIUC. And if you purchased a Choice 3 University+ Plan and your student chooses to attend a community college or university, you can use your Choice 3 benefits to cover more semesters and/or receive a refund.

You can also use your plan to help pay for a private or out-of-state college or university. The mean-weighted-average value of in-state tuition and mandatory fees (at the schools purchased in your plan) at the time your student attends college can be applied toward tuition and mandatory fees at most colleges and universities throughout the U.S.