One-hundred thousand dollars.

That's a lot of money. $100,000.

Yet, $100,000 is the average four-year cost of tuition at private universities nationwide. And remember, that number represents the current average costs for tuition. Eighteen years from now, it could cost as much as one-quarter of a million dollars to send a child to private college. And if you want junior to be a Harvard graduate, tack on an additional $100,000 or so to that quarter of a million figure.

And if you have more than one child . . . well, you can do the math, and it isn't pretty.

Welcome to the sticker shock of a college education.

If you are a parent with a child only a year or two away from college, the costs are likely keeping you up at night. And if you are a parent of a newborn, you should be up at night wondering how you are going to pay for college.

But there is hope. It's called "starting now."

Indeed, the sooner you start saving for college, the less daunting those big numbers become. For example, if you can save $300 per month ($3600 per year) for college and earn 11% annually on your investment, you'll have:

• $24,886 at the end of five years.
• $66,821 at the end of ten years.
• $137,483 at the end of 15 years.
• $201,382 at the end of 18 years.

Bottom line: The sooner you get started, the easier it will be to make the dream of college a reality for your child.

When considering investments for a child's education, don't forget the Education IRA. In addition, a simple dollar-cost average approach in your brokerage account - where you're setting aside money each and every month to buy stocks - is an effective way to accumulate the dollars you'll need to fund a college education.

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