Regional News

Enrollment ends May 31 for Washington’s prepaid college savings plan

May 05, 2021

The GET program’s 2020-2021 enrollment period comes to a close on May 31. Washington families still have time to start saving for future college costs with the state’s 529 prepaid tuition program.

As a 529 prepaid tuition program, the State of Washington guarantees that a family’s GET savings will keep pace with in-state tuition and state-mandated fees. While GET account values keep pace with in-state tuition, beneficiaries have the freedom to follow their ambitions wherever they choose, as GET can be used at nearly any public or private university, community college, or technical school in the country. GET units can even be used to pay the costs associated with apprenticeships and for certain student loan repayments.

The GET program is one of two college savings options offered by Washington College Savings Plans (WA529). The DreamAhead College Investment Plan was launched in 2018 to create additional choice and flexibility for families as they plan for college costs.

“With all of the day-to-day distractions over the past year, it’s important to keep in perspective that your child’s dreams and your goals for their future are long-term,” says Washington College Savings Plans director, Luke Minor. “Whether their future plans include college, trade school, or some other form of post-high school education, GET is a great way to ensure those dreams become reality.”

The Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program opened in 1998, and since then, thousands of Washington families have saved billions of dollars to go towards their students’ future higher education expenses. To date, GET has distributed over $1.2 billion to more than 56,000 students who have used their GET accounts to attend college in all 50 states and at least 15 countries worldwide.

WA529’s website (wastate529.wa.gov) offers details, charts, planning tools and answers to questions that families may have about the program. Accounts can be opened online, and the GET Contact Center is ready to help at (800) 955-2318 or GETInfo@wsac.wa.gov.