September is National College Savings Month: Enter to Win a College Savings Deposit
Read more about National College Savings Month in this guest article from Treasurer of State, Roby Smith. The ISL Education Lending Scholarship for Iowa high school and college students and their parents and guardians is open between now and December 5, 2025.
Why You Should Enter
- You have a chance to win.
ISL Education Lending will award 45 $1,000 deposits into ISave 529 (formerly College Savings Iowa) plan accounts. Iowa residents in high school or undergraduate college are eligible to enter, as are the parents, guardians or others who hold an ISave 529 account for a high school or undergraduate college student. Entering is simple: Visit our website and follow the link to enter. - Find tips in our Parent Handbook.
Take the time to explore the Parent Handbook for tips on academic success, exploring careers and education, selecting and applying to programs, and paying for college or other education. - Time may still be on your side.
Starting to save as early as you can allows more time for contributions to be added and those investments to grow before college bills start arriving. A 529 account is one method of saving, and it can be a significant element in your overall college financial plan.
How the Award Boosts Your Account
- Each $1,000 award is added to the ISave 529 plan account (either new or existing). Once it’s in an account for your student, it begins to earn interest according to your investment choices.
- This chart shows how creating an account with the $1,000 award and investing an additional $100 each month afterward grows at a 6.00% interest rate. (Estimated interest only; past performance of any investment choice does not indicate future returns.) The sooner you start, the more months your investment can grow before you need to pay educational costs.
What Else You Can Do
- Learn more about ISave 529 in this guest article from the State Treasurer of Iowa.
ISave 529 is the state-sponsored 529 plan that lets you save for education expenses and provides certain tax benefits. Visit www.ISave529.com to learn more about how 529 plans work and how to get started. - Understand education costs.
Depending on your student’s possible goals, multiple educational options may still be on the table at this point, and now is the time to explore the costs of those options and make a financial plan.
Win $1,000 for a Child and Their School!
September is College Savings Month, and ISave 529 is celebrating by giving five Iowa students $1,000 into a new or existing ISave 529 account to support their future educational dreams; each winner will also get to pick a K-12 school to receive an additional $1,000! Visit Iowa529contest.com to enter today.
ISave 529 knows the landscape of education is constantly changing, which is why we are encouraging parents and loved ones to enter the children they love in the giveaway for a chance to make an impact on the potential costs of education in the coming days, weeks, months, years or even decades.
Funds saved in an ISave 529 account can be used for expenses at any eligible education institution in the U.S. or abroad, including colleges, universities, apprenticeship programs, trade schools, K-12 schools and more. But did you also know funds can be used for qualified education expenses beyond tuition, including room and board, books, a computer and supplies? An additional perk for Iowa taxpayers is a state income tax deduction of up to $5,800 in contributions per beneficiary account in 2025!
With more than $6.5 billion in assets and $5.7 billion already withdrawn for qualified education expenses, families across the U.S. have experienced the benefits of saving for education costs with ISave 529. It’s easy to see how invested Iowans are in the education of current and future scholars in their lives. To see everything the plan has to offer, I encourage you to visit ISave529.com or contact us at (888) 672-9116. Happy saving!
Sincerely,
Roby Smith
Iowa State Treasurer
About the Author: Roby Smith is the State Treasurer of Iowa and administrator of the ISave 529 education savings plan. He serves as the State’s banker, coordinates bonding and invests Iowa’s money. Treasurer Smith is also the administrator of Iowa’s unclaimed property and Iowa’s ABLE plan for individuals with disabilities. To learn more about the Treasurer, visit IowaTreasurer.gov.
For additional details about ISave 529, read the Program Description.
ISave 529 and the ISave 529 logo are trademarks of the Iowa Educational Savings Plan Trust.
Next Steps
Be sure to complete the survey questions at the end of this article to be entered into the 529 deposit giveaway!
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