College Cost Calculator
Enter your child's age, what you have saved, what you add each month, the yearly tuition today, how fast you expect tuition to rise and the return on your savings. The calculator assumes college starts at 18 and lasts four years. It shows the years until college, the total four-year cost, your projected savings when college starts and the funding gap or surplus.
How to use the College Cost Calculator
- Enter your numbers in the College Cost Calculator above.
- Press the Calculate button to see the result.
- To try other numbers, change any value and press the button again.
The college cost projection
Four-year cost = Σ tuition × (1 + increase)^(years until college + k), k = 0 to 3 · · · Savings = S × (1 + r)^n + M × ((1 + r)^n − 1) / r
Each of the four college years costs today's tuition grown at your yearly increase until that year starts. S is your current savings, M the monthly deposit, r the yearly return ÷ 12 and n the months until college. The gap is the four-year cost minus the projected savings; a negative gap shows as a surplus.
Worked example
A newborn (age 0, so 18 years until college), tuition of $28,000 a year today rising 5% a year: the four-year cost comes to $290,439.23. Saving $500 a month from $0 at a 6% return grows to $193,676.60 by age 18, which leaves a funding gap of $96,762.64.
Frequently asked questions
Does it tell me how much to save each month?
Not directly. It shows the gap for the monthly deposit you enter. Raise the deposit and press Calculate again until the gap reaches $0 or turns into a surplus.
Which costs should I enter as tuition?
Whatever you expect to pay per year in today's money. The calculator grows that one figure, so if you want room, board or fees in the total, add them to the yearly amount.
How does financial aid affect this calculation?
The calculator does not subtract grants or scholarships. If you expect aid, enter the yearly cost after it.