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Michigan Education Trust (MET) and 529 Plans

Using MET

Michigan Education Trust (MET) is a prepaid tuition program that pays tuition and mandatory fees only. If you expect your tuition to be paid by MET, you must notify MET by calling 1-800-638-4543. MET will then send Central Michigan University a roster of students attending a given semester. Tuition will be charged to the student's account but an opposing MET credit will be applied by CMU 3rd party billing soon after. CMU will bill MET for the tuition through our 3rd party billing staff in the Student Account Services and University Billing Office (SASUB). SASUB 3rd party billing may be reached directly by calling 989-774-7340 if you have questions.

MET and the FAFSA

Due to changes made by the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act, 529 prepaid tuition plans and 529 savings plans are both treated as an investment on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). For a student who must report parental information, the accounts are reported as parental investments on the FAFSA Step 4 question: "As of today, what is the net worth of your parents' investments". Include all accounts owned by the student and all accounts owned by the parents for any member of the household. However, for a student who does not report parental information, the accounts owned by the student (and the student's spouse) are reported as student investments on the FAFSA Step 2 question: "As of today, what is your (and your spouse's) investments, including real estate?".

When completing the current year FAFSA, the value of a qualified education benefit that should be reported as an investment can be determined as follows:

  • For prepaid tuition programs (e.g. MET), the refund value of any tuition credits or certificates purchased under the qualified education benefit; and
  • For savings plans (e.g. MESP) or savings accounts, the current balance of the account.

Additional MET information can be accessed at http://www.michigan.gov/setwithmet or toll-free at (800) 638-4543.

Find more information on our Cost of Attendance page.

MET for graduate students

Graduate Students can use their MET credits. However, the funds will be applied at the undergraduate rate. The student is responsible for the difference in tuition beyond the cost of the undergraduate rate.