Section: Verbal

44) A program instituted in a particular state allows parents to prepay their children's future college tuition at current rates. The program then pays the tuition annually for the child at any of the state's public colleges in which the child enrolls. Parents should participate in the program as a means of decreasing the cost of their children's college education.

Which of the following, if true, is the most appropriate reason for parents not to participate in the program?

1. The prepayment plan would not cover the cost of room and board at any of the state's public colleges.
2. The amount of money accumulated by putting the prepayment funds in an interest-bearing account today will be greater than the total cost of tuition for any of the public colleges when the child enrolls.
3. Some of the state's public colleges are contemplating large increases in tuition next year.
4. The annual cost of tuition at the state's public colleges is expected to increase at a faster rate than the annual increase in the cost of living.
5. The parents are unsure about which public college in the state the child will attend.
6. No Answer Selected

The passage recommends that parents participate in a tuition prepayment program as a means of decreasing the cost of their children's college education. If this choice were true, placing the funds in an interest-bearing account would be more cost-effective than participating in the prepayment program. Therefore, this choice would be a reason for not participating and is the best answer.