Reducing the exposure sensibly

A few ordinary things reduce it. Paying tuition annually rather than in four instalments cuts the number of conversion events. Institutions sometimes offer a fixed-fee guarantee for the course duration — ask, because it is rarely advertised. Converting in tranches rather than all at once averages the rate instead of betting on one day.

What we would not do is treat a family's education budget as a position to trade. The aim is a plan that survives a bad rate, not one that profits from a good one.