2008 3-year Top Performing Direct Plans Q3

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, 3-year and 5-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 September 30, 2008 Direct sold 529 Plans Ranked by 3 Yr performance Updated November 25, 2008 3-year Performance Ranking (click here for 1 Year Performance Table and 5 Year Performance Table) Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Louisiana START Saving Program 20.32 2 Nebraska College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) 21.82 3 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 23.28 4 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 26.87 5 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 27.43 6 Virginia Virginia Education Savings Trust (VEST) 28.07 7 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 28.09 8 Iowa College Savings Iowa 28.17 9 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 29.69 10 Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan 29.76 11 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 30.07 12 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 31.39 13 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 31.69 14 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 32.45 15 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 33.33 16 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan 35.22 17 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 35.30 18 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 35.98 19 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 38.15 20 Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program 38.44 21 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 39.33 22 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct 39.72 23 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 39.87 24 Maryland College Savings Plans of Maryland - College Investment Plan 40.22 25 West Virginia SMART529 Select 40.72 26 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 41.25 27 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 43.26 28 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 47.32 29 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 47.83 30 District of Columbia DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 48.01 31 Montana Pacific Life Funds 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) MT 48.37 32 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 49.09 33 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 49.44 34 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 51.02 35 Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold, Alternative R) 58.68 36 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program 59.76 37 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 61.22 38 Nevada USAA College Savings Plan 61.57 39 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 62.63 40 North Carolina National College Savings Program 63.53 41 Alabama Higher Education 529 Fund (Direct-sold) 73.16 - California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan NA - Florida Florida College Investment Plan NA - Georgia Path2College 529 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 - Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Investment Plan (Direct-sold) NA - Maine NextGen College Investing Plan - Client Direct Series NA - Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) NA - North Dakota College SAVE NA - Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan NA - Texas Texas College Savings Plan NA - Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment 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, 3-year and 5-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 September 30, 2008 Direct sold 529 Plans Ranked by 3 Yr performance Updated November 25, 2008 3-year Performance Ranking (click here for 1 Year Performance Table and 5 Year Performance Table) Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Louisiana START Saving Program 20.32 2 Nebraska College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) 21.82 3 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 23.28 4 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 26.87 5 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 27.43 6 Virginia Virginia Education Savings Trust (VEST) 28.07 7 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 28.09 8 Iowa College Savings Iowa 28.17 9 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 29.69 10 Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan 29.76 11 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 30.07 12 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 31.39 13 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 31.69 14 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 32.45 15 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 33.33 16 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan 35.22 17 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 35.30 18 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 35.98 19 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 38.15 20 Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program 38.44 21 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 39.33 22 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct 39.72 23 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 39.87 24 Maryland College Savings Plans of Maryland - College Investment Plan 40.22 25 West Virginia SMART529 Select 40.72 26 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 41.25 27 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 43.26 28 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 47.32 29 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 47.83 30 District of Columbia DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 48.01 31 Montana Pacific Life Funds 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) MT 48.37 32 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 49.09 33 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 49.44 34 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 51.02 35 Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold, Alternative R) 58.68 36 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program 59.76 37 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 61.22 38 Nevada USAA College Savings Plan 61.57 39 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 62.63 40 North Carolina National College Savings Program 63.53 41 Alabama Higher Education 529 Fund (Direct-sold) 73.16 - California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan NA - Florida Florida College Investment Plan NA - Georgia Path2College 529 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 - Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Investment Plan (Direct-sold) NA - Maine NextGen College Investing Plan - Client Direct Series NA - Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) NA - North Dakota College SAVE NA - Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan NA - Texas Texas College Savings Plan NA - Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment 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.