Frequently Asked Questions

GradSave is an online college savings registry that helps friends and family give gifts directly to a child's college savings plan, in lieu of more "trinkets" at birthdays, holidays, and other special occasions. Donors rest assured that gifts are going to be used for the exclusive purpose of higher education expenses, and children get the benefit of long term savings for college. Everyone wins! This can be done in one of two ways: (1) if a child already has a profile established, gift givers can contribute directly via the child's dedicated URL, or (2) if a child doesn't have a registry established yet, GradSave offers the very popular college savings gift certificates that can be redeemed for any tuition savings plan nationwide.

GradSave is for anyone who is saving for college or wishes to give the gift of college - whether it's for yourself or for a child. Most of our customers are parents of children ages 0-18. For younger children, gifts to a college savings fund can grow over a longer period of time and have a significant impact on their college savings. For older children, gifts to a college savings fund are treated much more favorably in student aid applications than gifts that end up in checking or savings accounts. GradSave can also be used to save for graduate studies.

Definitely not. Many parents use the GradSave college savings registry for an upcoming event and haven't had time to open a 529 plan yet. GradSave helps parents start down the path of college savings by making it easy to share with friends and family via Facebook, Twitter, popular email address books, and even a dedicated URL on paper invitations. Parents link their 529 or state prepaid plan.

All gifts made via GradSave are bank-level encrypted, safe, and FDIC insured. Since GradSave is a college savings gift registry, contributions made will go to a linked 529 plan at a financial institution (i.e. Vanguard, Fidelity, American Funds, etc.). If there is no 529 plan linked, contributions are held with our commercial banking partner, Bank of America in an FDIC insured account. We act as an intermediary - handling all the complicated, hard-to-remember details, such as account numbers, addresses, etc - so all you have to do is click your mouse a few times and voila, you're saving for college.

GradSave generally does transfers on the 1st and 15th of every month. Requests will be processed on the next available processing date and will be available in your linked 529 plan or other college savings plan within 14 business days of the process date.

Simple. Log in to your GradSave account, click on "Your Dashboard", to the right hand side you will see your contributions. If you have funds that have not yet been redeemed, you will see a blue "Redeem" button. Just click on the Redeem button and that's it! Your funds will show up in your linked account within 14 business days.

No problem! The easiest way we've found in helping thousands of parents of nationwide, is to buy them a GradSave college savings gift card which can be redeemed in a few short clicks online at GradSave. You'll help them get on the way to college savings, because every little bit counts.

A 529 plan is the most popular way to save for a child's future college expenses. With more than 10.5 million 529 plans currently in use by more than 8.5 million U.S. families, 529s are the No. 1 college savings investment vehicle out there! A 529 plan works a lot like a 401(k). Money invested in a 529 grows tax-free and can be withdrawn tax free as long as the funds are used to pay for qualified college expenses, such as tuition, room and board, books, and fees. (A new car to drive around campus doesn't count!) Many states also offer additional benefits to 529 plan holders, such as a state income tax deduction on contributions and matching funds. Another bonus is that 529 plans receive more favorable treatment in federal financial aid calculations than other savings vehicles, such as high-interest savings accounts or non-tax-advantaged mutual funds. For example, if you invest $5,000 in a 529 plan and it doubles in value, the entire $10,000 can be used for qualified college expenses. If you were to make the same $5,000 investment in another college savings vehicle, you could incur income or capital gains tax, which means less money for school! There are two types of 529 plans: prepaid and savings plans. A prepaid plan allows you to pre-pay all or part of the costs of in-state public college expenses. A savings plan lets you invest your money in a mutual fund or similar investment vehicle so that it has the potential to grow. To learn more about individual 529 plans, please talk to your financial advisor or visit www.savingforcollege.com.

GradSave gifts are deposited into the child's 529 college savings plan or state prepaid plan, and once the money is in the 529, it can only be used for qualified educational expenses. Under some circumstances, withdrawals for non-education expenses may be permitted, however the plan holder will face penalties and adverse tax consequences.

GradSave takes your privacy very seriously. We want you to be confident in using our service and encourage your friends to use it, too. We don't share your contact list or contact anyone on it. We pinky swear! We do, however, allow our service partners, such as 529 plan geniuses, to reach out to you in a responsible manner. For more information about how we handle your information, check out our privacy policy.

There is no cost to open or maintain an account on GradSave. However, there is a small nominal fee involved in making a gift. For a full summary of our regular pricing, click here.

GradSave accepts all major U.S. credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. GradSave uses an SSL encrypted server for all transactions and does not store any of your credit card information.

Selecting a 529 is a lot like Goldilocks and the Three Bears: you have to find the one that's just right! We recommend doing your homework (i.e. research!) and contacting a financial advisor if you would like additional help. Another great resource is www.savingforcollege.com.

We hate to see you go, but hopefully it's because your child has reached college with a financial head start! Email us at accountclose@gradsave.com, and we will close your account. Be sure to contact us using the e-mail address that's linked to your GradSave account and include your full name.

Great! You can use your promo code to buy a friend (or yourself) a discounted gift card. Keep in mind though, there is a limit of 1 discount code use (for a gift card or contribution) per account.

Nope! We are an online college savings registry service that allows people to give the gift of a college education to their favorite kid (or kids). Once you've opened a 529 college savings plan, you can link it to your GradSave account (GradSave works with every 529 plan in the country) so your friends and family can contribute to it online. Click here to sign up for a GradSave account.