2008 1-year Top Performing Direct Plans Q2

Savingforcollege.com ranks the performance of Direct Sold 529 Plans. Direct sold plans are those that consumers can enroll in without using a broker. We have prepared both 1-year and 3-year performance tables. To prepare this ranking, we compared a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan, selecting portfolios based on their mix of stocks, bonds, and money-market funds, allowing for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven different asset-allocation categories. The lower the "percentile" the better the ranking. This ranking could be a useful tool for you when selecting which Direct 529 Plan might be right for you. 529 Performance Rankings as of June 30, 2008 Direct sold 529 Plans Ranked by 1 Yr performance Updated September 15, 2008 1-year Performance Ranking (click here for 3 Year Performance Table) Rank State Plan Percentile 1 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct 26.43 2 Nebraska College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) 29.35 3 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 30.82 4 Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan 33.50 5 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 34.02 6 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 34.69 7 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 35.439 8 Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Investment Plan (Direct-sold) 35.46 9 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 35.67 10 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 35.68 11 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 35.74 12 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 36.10 13 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 37.26 14 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 37.55 15 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 37.61 16 California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan 38.13 17 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 38.83 18 Iowa College Savings Iowa 39.44 19 North Carolina National College Savings Program 39.57 20 Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program 39.87 21 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 40.86 22 North Dakota College SAVE 41.79 23 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 42.64 24 Montana Pacific Life Funds 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) MT 42.90 25 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 43.02 26 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan 43.53 27 District of Columbia DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 43.83 28 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 44.87 29 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 45.26 30 Louisiana START Saving Program 45.48 31 Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan 45.72 32 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 47.13 33 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 48.09 34 Georgia Path2College 529 Plan 48.12 35 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 49.50 36 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 50.43 37 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 52.25 38 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 56.80 39 Virginia Virginia Education Savings Trust (VEST) 58.19 40 Maine NextGen College Investing Plan - Client Direct Series 61.19 41 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 61.42 42 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 62.87 43 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 63.13 44 Maryland College Savings Plans of Maryland - College Investment Plan 63.35 45 Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold Alternative R) 65.51 46 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 67.47 47 Alabama Higher Education 529 Fund (Direct-sold) 71.54 48 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct 80.64 49 Nevada USAA College Savings Plan 82.43 - Florida Florida College Investment Plan NA - Hawaii Hawaii's College Savings Program NA - Idaho Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal) NA - Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program - Direct-sold-Plan NA - Texas Texas College Savings Plan NA NA = Not Applicable = Program does not have at least 3 portfolios with sufficiently-long performance under our ranking model. The Savingforcollege.com Plan Composite Rankings are derived using the plans relevant portfolio performance in seven unique asset allocation categories. The asset allocation categories used are 100% Equity, 80% Equity, 60% Equity, 40% Equity, 20% Equity, 100% Fixed, and 100% Short Term. The plan composite ranking is determined by the average of its percentile ranking in the seven categories. The performance data underlying these rankings represents past performance and is not a guarantee of future performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data used. A plan portfolio's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares or units when redeemed may be worth more or less than their original cost. Investors should carefully consider plan investment goals, risks, charges and expenses, by obtaining and reading the plan's official program description before investing. Investors should also consider whether their of their beneficiary's home state offers any tax or other benefits that are available for investments only in such state's 529 plan. Brokers please note: For internal use only and not for use with or to be shown to the investing public. Disclaimer: Bankrate, Inc. shall not be liable for any errors or omissions in this report. Users should rely on official program disclosures. For Broker Sold plan rankings, click here. Savingforcollege.com ranks the performance of Direct Sold 529 Plans. Direct sold plans are those that consumers can enroll in without using a broker. We have prepared both 1-year and 3-year performance tables. To prepare this ranking, we compared a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan, selecting portfolios based on their mix of stocks, bonds, and money-market funds, allowing for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven different asset-allocation categories. The lower the "percentile" the better the ranking. This ranking could be a useful tool for you when selecting which Direct 529 Plan might be right for you. 529 Performance Rankings as of June 30, 2008 Direct sold 529 Plans Ranked by 1 Yr performance Updated September 15, 2008 1-year Performance Ranking (click here for 3 Year Performance Table) Rank State Plan Percentile 1 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct 26.43 2 Nebraska College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) 29.35 3 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 30.82 4 Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan 33.50 5 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 34.02 6 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 34.69 7 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 35.439 8 Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Investment Plan (Direct-sold) 35.46 9 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 35.67 10 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 35.68 11 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 35.74 12 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 36.10 13 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 37.26 14 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 37.55 15 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 37.61 16 California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan 38.13 17 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 38.83 18 Iowa College Savings Iowa 39.44 19 North Carolina National College Savings Program 39.57 20 Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program 39.87 21 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 40.86 22 North Dakota College SAVE 41.79 23 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 42.64 24 Montana Pacific Life Funds 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) MT 42.90 25 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 43.02 26 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan 43.53 27 District of Columbia DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 43.83 28 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 44.87 29 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 45.26 30 Louisiana START Saving Program 45.48 31 Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan 45.72 32 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 47.13 33 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 48.09 34 Georgia Path2College 529 Plan 48.12 35 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 49.50 36 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 50.43 37 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 52.25 38 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 56.80 39 Virginia Virginia Education Savings Trust (VEST) 58.19 40 Maine NextGen College Investing Plan - Client Direct Series 61.19 41 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 61.42 42 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 62.87 43 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 63.13 44 Maryland College Savings Plans of Maryland - College Investment Plan 63.35 45 Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold Alternative R) 65.51 46 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 67.47 47 Alabama Higher Education 529 Fund (Direct-sold) 71.54 48 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct 80.64 49 Nevada USAA College Savings Plan 82.43 - Florida Florida College Investment Plan NA - Hawaii Hawaii's College Savings Program NA - Idaho Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal) NA - Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program - Direct-sold-Plan NA - Texas Texas College Savings Plan NA NA = Not Applicable = Program does not have at least 3 portfolios with sufficiently-long performance under our ranking model. The Savingforcollege.com Plan Composite Rankings are derived using the plans relevant portfolio performance in seven unique asset allocation categories. The asset allocation categories used are 100% Equity, 80% Equity, 60% Equity, 40% Equity, 20% Equity, 100% Fixed, and 100% Short Term. The plan composite ranking is determined by the average of its percentile ranking in the seven categories. The performance data underlying these rankings represents past performance and is not a guarantee of future performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data used. A plan portfolio's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares or units when redeemed may be worth more or less than their original cost. Investors should carefully consider plan investment goals, risks, charges and expenses, by obtaining and reading the plan's official program description before investing. Investors should also consider whether their of their beneficiary's home state offers any tax or other benefits that are available for investments only in such state's 529 plan. Brokers please note: For internal use only and not for use with or to be shown to the investing public. Disclaimer: Bankrate, Inc. shall not be liable for any errors or omissions in this report. Users should rely on official program disclosures. For Broker Sold plan rankings, click here.