Just how much future tuition a deposit today buys depends on which college your child attends, the number of years until your child enrolls and the discount rate the college offers.

FORBES: Pay Now, Learn Later

More precisely, it may be partly free of tax, depending on your income and on how much of the bond proceeds go to tuition and fees.

FORBES: Paying For College: A Tax Dodge For College Students

The difference between what the college will provide and how much you actually have to lay out for tuition, room, board, books, and general living expenses is what is called the expected family contribution.

FORBES: Accepted, Rejected, Wait-Listed -- Now What?

Considering how much average parents are already shelling out these days for college tuition and related expenses, they may want to explore reducing their outlay--or, better yet, making a little profit.

FORBES: A+ College Real Estate

If the Prosperous Suburbia Primary School has 60% of pupils receiving private tuition while the Deprived Inner City Primary has none, then how much of a guide are the league tables to the relative quality of teaching at these two schools?

BBC: The dilemma of private tuition