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| College Savings Plans |
 Look through a list of some of the most common fees, charges and expenses found in college savings plans:
- Enrollment Fee. Many college savings plans do not charge an enrollment fee. Most of enrollment fees are under $50.
- Annual Maintenance Fee. A lot of college savings plans charge annual maintenance fees. These fees usually vary from $10 to $50. If you make automatic contributions, or if you maintain a certain balance, usually $25,000, a lot of plans reduce or eliminate this fee for residents.
- Sales Charge (Front-end Sales Load). Some of college savings plans charge a sales charge when you buy certain investment options within a plan or purchase a plan through a broker or investment adviser instead of directly from the state. Usually, you can determine the sales load by looking at the fees and expenses section of the offering circular or prospectus. Not each plan has a sales load. A sales charge of some plans may only be levied on certain share classes of the plan.
- Deferred Sales Charge. A contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) or deferred sales charge is a charge you pay when you withdraw money from an investment option or college savings plan. It is sometimes referred to as the back-end load. The charge may be 2.5% for the first year, and get smaller every year after that until it reaches zero. Usually, you can determine the deferred sales charge by looking at the fees and expenses section of the offering circular or prospectus. Not each college savings plan has a deferred sales charge. A deferred sales charge of some plans may only be levied on certain classes of the plan.
- Administration/Management Fee. This fee is the total annual college savings plan operating expenses expressed as a percentage of the plan's assets. For instance, an expense ratio of 1% represents an annual charge to the plan's assets – including your proportional interest in those assets – of 1% per year.
- Underlying Fund Expenses. College savings plan portfolios bear part of the fees and expenses of these underlying funds, because college savings plan portfolios typically invest in a number of mutual funds. This expense is expressed as a percentage of a mutual fund's assets. The offering circular or prospectus may contain fund expenses percentages for each of these funds.
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