Live in PA need 529 (3 kids) - what to do?

I need to start saving for college for my 3 kids - please help me pick the plan, so far I am utterly confused. I live in PA - is the state plan the way to go? I know there are variables, but what would be the best plan of attack? i can withstand some risk, and can put away aggressively for now. Would like some flexibility (if one child gets scholarship for example, then other two get to spend the money). Please help!

(if one child gets scholarship for example, then other two get to spend the money)

Others here are much more qualified to speak on the issue of specific plans and investments, etc.

I'm here to speak on the above -- the idea that you intend to punish excellence, and reward incompetence. So, your scholarship earning kid is going to be rewarded with....nothing? -- and your slacker kids are going to get....everything?

I realize college is a huge expense, made even larger since your expense is "times three", and that many parents worry themselves into ulcers and heart attacks over the issue. Because of that, I personally think it's vitally important that middle class parents (parents who really and truly can't afford to give each of their children the equivalent of a $50,000+ gift as they leave the nest, as opposed to parents for whom paying for college is no financial struggle) teach their children this simple dictum -- "There is no money for college, so you had better study as hard as you can, and get scholarships."

This doesn't mean I'm encouraging you to NOT save for college. I am, however, saying that you should instill excellence in your children, so that they will all get scholarships, so that you have to pay as little as possible (perhaps nothing!) for college.

I speak as both a person who paid her own way (scholarships, cash, and loans) through college, all the way to the Ph.D, and as a teacher in the university system. It is horribly, pitifully, sadly common that those children of parents who pay their way don't tend to perform as well, because they have no vested interest in the process. Meanwhile, those students who pay at least part of their way (scholarships, jobs, whatever) tend to do much better, waste less time in useless partying, and are much more focused on their goals, rather than interested in extending their dependency.

You're starting early, because you want to save and have that money grow. That's good -- it means you're also starting early enough that you can instill a culture of academic excellence in your family, where certain low grades are simply not tolerated, and where each child understands that college is up to THEM to pay for. Then, when they run to you with their scholarship letters, you can surprise them with the "fill in the gap" money -- or money for a computer, or a car, or housing expenses, etc. Or you can save that money for graduate school, for medical school, or for law school, as a reward for their paying their own way through the Bachelor's degree.

The money gives you options, so long as you don't strangle the one option you need -- which is for them to learn that achievement and success are mandatory, not optional. Scholarships don't just "happen" -- they are the direct result of the educational culture you create in your house.

Good luck to you!