Saturday is the last day to sign up for Florida Prepaid, and enrollment has more than doubled since last year.
New plan prices were slashed more than 50 percent due to a new state law that helps control future tuition increases, according to the Florida Prepaid College Board.
About 34,000 plans have been sold since October, compared to the roughly 16,000 sold during the entire enrollment period last year.
A four-year plan costs $173 a month, down from $350 last year, according to the board. Applicants must be a high school junior or younger.
The lower plan prices bother some current UF students.
“By giving that much of a discount, it’s not fair to students who had to pay the full price and not fair to the university system who has to make up that difference,” said Cameron Myers, an 18-year-old UF economics freshman.
At UF, nearly 12,500 students have Florida Prepaid, according to the office of student financial affairs.
The program allows family members to save for their student’s college fund, said Rick Wilder, director of the office. He said the decision to join is an individual one.
“For some families it may be worth it,” he said. “Others it may not be.”
UF has seen a steady increase in new students enrolled in the program, which he said is beneficial because tuition is not expected to increase for the 2015-16 school year.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 2/25/2015 under the headline “Florida Prepaid signups double after price drop”]
