CMoR’s college tuition raffle kicks off on Sunday

Tickets for the Children’s Museum of Richmond’s 4th Annual Tuition Raffle go on sale on May 29th!

May 27, 2016; 9:23 AM • by Valerie Catrow

The only thing more terrifying to me than my child one day being old enough to go to college is that somehow someone is going to have to pay for it.

According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees at four-year colleges for the 2015-2016 academic year was…

$9,410 for state residents at public colleges
$23,893 for out-of-state residents at public colleges
$32,405 for private colleges

Yes, that’s per yer.

Fear not, parents! Or fear less, maybe? Tickets for the Children’s Museum of Richmond’s 4th Annual Tuition Raffle go on sale on Sunday, May 29th, giving you the chance to win four years of college tuition for your child.

Please note: should you win, CMoR isn’t going to hand your kid a big bag of cash that he or she can then blow on Pokemon cards and Mountain Dew. Instead, the winner of the raffle will win a Virginia 529 prePAID¹ with enough money in it to cover eight semesters of tuition.² Virginia 529 prePAID accounts can be used at any eligible institution in the country or around the world-public and private-and it can even be used for graduate school.³

And as if that weren’t exciting enough, CMoR is offering a pretty nice price-break on the tickets…

1 Ticket = $45
2 Tickets = $85
5 Tickets = $200
10 Tickets = $350

Tickets will be available beginning Sunday, May 29th and can be purchased online or at any CMoR location. There is no limit on the number of tickets you can buy. Online tickets and tickets purchased at CMoR satellite locations (Chesterfield, Short Pump, and Fredericksburg will be available until 5:00 PM on Wednesday, June 29th; tickets can be purchased at CMoR’s Central location until 10:30 AM on Thursday, June 30th. They’ll select the winner (via a random drawing) at CMoR Central between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM on Thursday, June 30th. The winner will be notified by phone.⁴

For more information on Virginia529 prePAID programs (and other Virginia529 options), head over to virginia529.com.

529, get it? May 29th, 5/29? Ha! I love college savings humor! ↩
In Virginia 529 prePAID language, “tuition” means: “the undergraduate in-state semester or term charges for tuition and mandatory fees required and imposed as a condition of enrollment of all students by any two-year or four-year Virginia Public Institution.” ↩
However! The benefits and pay-outs vary a bit, depending on whether your kid is going in-state, out-of-state, or private. ↩
Check out the Official Rules and Regulations (PDF) if you’d like more info. ↩