<human>: **About:**

Hello r/personalfinance! I'm a student in his penultimate year at a US university who currently has ~ in savings (all in regular savings or checking accounts).

I make ~ during the school year doing web development work and tutoring on the side. This summer I will be doing an internship that will probably pay me .
Given that all my money is in either savings or checking accounts, I'm pretty sure inflation isn't doing happy things to it.

**My main objective here is to be able to save/invest/retain value for as much money as possible for the medium and long term**.

Some of my friends have suggested **a)** sticking money in an IRA so I can get a head start on retirement saving and/or **b)** sticking money in a standalone mutual fund.

**Specific Questions:**

With the above in mind, I'd like to know...

* Are those two (IRA, mutual fund) good options for me?
* If so, should I go for a Roth or Traditional IRA?
* How should I go about actually putting money into an IRA or mutual fund - any recommended brokerages?
* Are there any other ways I should consider storing/investing my money that I haven't thought of?

**Other Things to Consider:**

* Parents are paying for undergraduate education (so no student loans).
* I'm aiming to go to a Top 7 law school right after graduating in 2014; I will have some, but most likely not a lot of parental support for that (so probably will end up getting student loans).

Can you provide a brief overview of the text?
<bot>: I'm a college student. Should I, and how do I, save/invest with IRAs and Mutual funds?