Prepared for a shock? According to The College Board's "Trends in College Pricing 2005,” today's average cost of a 4-year education at a private college is $125,000, which includes tuition, fees, books, supplies and room-and-board. And the news isn't much better for public colleges, even in your own state: Total charges can average $52,000. How much will a higher education cost when your child is college age? And more to the point, how much do you have to save now to pay for it?

Answer the questions below for an estimate of how much you'll need for college and how much you should be investing each month to reach your college savings goal.

Select State    Alaska Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming    Select Residency Status    In-State Student Out-of-State Student    Select School    Average Public School Average Private School Alaska Bible College Alaska Pacific University Ilisagvik College Sheldon Jackson College University of Alaska Anchorage University of Alaska Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula College University of Alaska Anchorage, Kodiak College University of Alaska Anchorage, Matanuska-Susitna College University of Alaska Fairbanks University of Alaska Southeast University of Alaska Southeast, Ketchikan Campus University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka Campus University of Alaska, Prince William Sound Community College

Current annual college cost figures are obtained from Peterson's. The college costs include tuition, room & board, books & expenses as reported by Peterson's. Copyright ©2006 Peterson's, part of The Thomson Corporation, and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Investment Products Offered:

Are Not FDIC Insured May Lose Value Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of CollegeBoundfund carefully before investing. For a free copy of the Program Description, which contains this and other information, visit our website at www.collegeboundfund.com,or call your financial representative or AllianceBernstein Investments at (888) 324-5057. Please read the Program Description carefully before you invest.

If you are not a Rhode Island resident or if you have taxable income in another state, please note that depending on the laws of your or your beneficiary's home state, favorable state tax treatment or other benefits offered by such home state for investing in 529 college savings plans may be available only for investments in the home state's 529 plan. Any state-based benefit offered with respect to this plan should be one of many appropriately weighted factors to be considered before making an investment decision. Please consult your financial, tax or other adviser to learn more about how state-based benefits (including any limitations) would apply to your specific circumstances. You may also wish to contact your home state or another state’s 529 plan to learn more about its features, benefits and limitations before investing. Statements in this material concerning taxation are not offered as individual tax advice.

The investments in CollegeBoundfund are not guaranteed by the State of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority (which established and implemented CollegeBoundfund and makes rules and regulations governing the program), the Rhode Island State Investment Commission (which oversees the investments of the assets of CollegeBoundfund), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any instrumentality thereof. CollegeBoundfund is managed by AllianceBernstein L.P. and distributed by AllianceBernstein Investments, member NASD.

© 2006 AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc.