My recommendation is to consider BOTH in state public universities as well as out of state colleges and universities, including private schools. Most colleges and universities around the nation will accept funds from the FL Prepaid Plan (news to many FL families who think that their plan is only accepted by FL schools). College acceptance has become increasingly competitive at both state and private universities. This trend is likely to continue.

Looking for an expert opinion on an obsevation that my wife and I have on college acceptances and families who have Florida Prepaid accounts. We have seen a consistent pattern among young adults trying to get into state colleges and being denied acceptance. Across three dozen or so families, we have polled students (and parents) and collected GPA, ACT and PSAT scores and have seen no rhyme or reason as to why some students get accepted to state colleges and some do not. It is evident that universities have the right to accept or deny a student base on many factors which by itself is very inconsistent. But in our local study, we have seen one consistent reason why students have been denied. Students with Florida Prepaid have been denied when their GPAs and test scores exceeded those of their peers who were accepted to the same universities. Lastly, its hard to not to believe with the state of the prepaid fund and the escalating costs of college tutition, that families who have incomes above middle class and have prepaid plans, are not discriminated against in some way. These institutions simply cannot deal with the loss of revenue by honoring the program 100% of the time for qualifying students. This is a point of frustration for many of us here who thought we had planned well in advance for our childrens future and are now finding our college options very limited. Would like to hear your thoughts and whether you believe there might be grounds for further discussion/investigation.