Concerned about your fiduciary liabilities and the new 2012 fee disclosure regulations?

With mandatory rule changes due this summer, you need a partner with a dedicated Retirement Plan Consultant specialist, who can guide you on what the new rules are, how they will impact your firm, and what you need to do to prepare. Contact

Muirfield Wealth Management Group

Ozzie Fishman, CFP®

First Vice President–Investments

Retirement Plan Consultant

614-793-3190 ozzie.fishman@ubs.com ubs.com/team/muirfieldwealth and investment advisory services, please speak with your Financial Advisor or visit our website at ubs.com/guidetofees. UBS Financial Services Inc. which is a subsidiary of UBS AG. ©2012 UBS Financial Services Inc. All rights reserved. Member SIPC. 7.00_Ad_4.75x4.875_6P0427_Muirfield campuses to try to get an idea of what feels right.

“I compare it to buying a house. What are you looking for? Do you want three bedrooms and two baths on a quiet street or an apartment overlooking the city? It’s the same thing with picking a college,” says Jim. Ask your child, what field he wants to study. Does he feel more comfortable in a small rural setting or a large urban one? Is he interested in undergraduate research and would he be interested in studying abroad?

Jim also recommends being honest when discussing finances with your children: “Sit them down and tell them how much money you can afford to spend on college. The saddest part of my job is when a student gets into the school of her dreams and the parents tell her they can’t afford to send her there.”

The cost of private schools such as the University of Notre Dame and Boston College is off the charts right now, with tuition, room and board reaching almost $60,000 next year. That makes The Ohio State University a bargain at $20,000 per year for in-state residents – if you can get accepted. The average GPA for an admitted OSU student is 3.78 with an ACT score of 28. Compare that to the national average ACT score of 21 and it’s obvious that Ohio State has become a very selective university.

If your child wants to obtain a graduate, medical, business or law degree, that is even more competitive and of course will cost more money. Strong students interested in medical school today might send out 30-40 applications in hopes of getting into one program.

As a parent, I frequently ask what else I can do for my children while they are under my roof and how I can prepare them for college and life out on their own. My advice is to start preparing early – and by early I mean savings plans as soon as you leave the maternity ward and middle school for the hands-on portion. Log on to www.collegeboard.org for planning tools and parent information. Sign up with your kids for the SAT question of the day and have fun expanding your vocabulary and trying to recall how to multiply fractions. Stop by and tour campuses if you are on vacation and near a university that may be of interest. Teach your children the value of a dollar by encouraging them to get jobs and save for the future.

Above all, try not to stress. It’s easier said than done, but if you help your child navigate the college process by keeping an open door for communication, he will end up right where he is supposed to be. Isn’t that right, Chris? –CD