fees and more.</p><p><strong>Search for Scholarships Online</strong><br />Scholarships and fellowships are for students with special qualifications

WOODBURY, Minn. �� If you have a child heading off to college, it is very likely they won't be able to pay for their education entirely on their own: the average yearly cost of an in-state public college for 2013-14 was $22,826, while private schools averaged $44,750. Here are a few tips on how you can help your child pay for college.

Start a 529 College Savings Plan
If your child still has some time before they head off to college, you should consider starting a 529 College Savings Plan.

There are two types of plans: pre-paid tuition plans and college savings plans. A pre-paid tuition plan allows you to pay for future college tuition costs at today's prices. Since the cost of college is increasing over 3% a year on average, this looks like a good deal. Just keep in mind that a pre-paid tuition plan only covers tuition and mandatory fees.

The other option is a savings plan, which works more like a Roth IRA. Your account value then goes up or down based on the performance of your investments and your earnings won't be subject to federal income tax. The downside is that your investments can drop in value. One advantage, however, is that you can use your money for \qualified education expenses\" �� this includes tuition