The Savings and Growth for Education (SAGE) Scholars Program is a unique college savings program that rewards parents and students with discounts on tuition at participating colleges. These discounts are earned by either investing money with one of the SAGE Scholars partner organizations, which range from large employers to boutique investment firms, or earning rewards on your BabyMint account.

For example, if a parent has earned 2,500 SAGE Scholars rewards points, this could be converted into a $2,500 tuition discount at a school such as the University of San Diego. The maximum that can be earned is one year’s worth of tuition at any participating school, with unused amounts being rolled over to a student’s siblings. Unfortunately, if a student decides to go somewhere else besides one of the partner schools, the benefits are not transferable.

As with UPromise and BabyMint, there is no reason not to enroll in SAGE Scholars Program because it is free. If nothing else, money you earn through your BabyMint participation is matched in the form of tuition discounts at participating schools. If your child doesn’t go to one of those schools, you’re not really losing anything.

You should, however, do some serious comparison shopping before deciding to do business with one of SAGE Scholars’ limited menu of financial partners. There’s a good chance that you could find a better deal on your mortgage, investment services, or insurance products by shopping around. To learn more about the SAGE Scholars Program, visit them on the Web at www.sagescholars.com.