College Cost Calculator
Estimate total cost of attendance over multiple years, net of scholarships, with an optional start date
Leave empty for Year 1, Year 2 and so on. With a date, each year shows the months it covers. The date only labels the years; the costs do not change.
$117,627.05
Total cost, net of aid, over 4 years
How much you would borrow
- Gap to cover with loans
- $117,627.05
- Interest while in school
- $18,797.38
- Debt at graduation
- $136,424.43
- Monthly payment (10 years at 6.52%)
- $1,550.46
- Interest during repayment
- $49,630.77
Estimate: each year's gap is borrowed at the start of the year, and interest builds up until graduation, as on unsubsidized federal loans. Grace period not counted. For extra payments and a dated schedule, use the Student Loan Repayment Calculator.
Aid is held flat every year while costs rise with the annual increase, and grants and loans are not separated: enter only aid you do not repay. This estimates cost of attendance based on the numbers you enter — check your specific school's published cost of attendance for exact figures, since tuition and fees vary widely. For your net price after aid at a specific school, use the U.S. Department of Education net price calculator (opens in a new tab).
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About College Cost Calculator
Estimates total college cost of attendance across multiple years — tuition, room and board, books, and fees — with an annual increase rate and any scholarships netted out. Add family money and work-study to see how much you would borrow and the monthly payment, and add up to three more schools to compare side by side.
Enter your annual costs by category, the number of years, an expected annual increase rate, and any scholarships or aid, and your total net cost over the full program is calculated. Add the date the first year starts to see the months each year covers; it only labels the years and never changes a cost. The loan figures are estimates: interest is counted from each year's loan until graduation, then added to the balance when repayment starts.
Check your specific target school's published cost of attendance rather than relying on national averages — tuition and fees vary enormously between institutions, even within the same state.
Watch: College Cost Calculator in Action
- Should I use national average costs, or my specific school's numbers?
- Check your specific target school's published cost of attendance rather than relying on national averages — tuition and fees vary enormously between institutions, even within the same state.
- What does the first year starts date do in the College Cost Calculator?
- It is optional. Enter the date the first year begins, such as the start of the term, and each year in the list shows the months it covers, with the start and end of the whole program above. Leave it empty and the years are shown as Year 1, Year 2 and so on, as before.
- Does the start date change the cost?
- No. The date only labels the years. Each year's cost still comes from the costs you enter and the annual increase, so the total is the same for any date. Years are counted as 12 months from the date you choose, which may not match your school's own term dates.
- How much will I need to borrow?
- Enter the family contribution and work-study you can put in each year, and the calculator subtracts them from each year's cost after aid. What is left each year is the amount to borrow. It then adds the interest that builds up while you are in school to give the debt at graduation, and works out the monthly payment for the loan rate and repayment term you choose. The loan rate starts at the federal undergraduate rate for 2025-26; change it if your loan differs.
- How do I compare two colleges?
- Choose Compare another school and enter the other school's total Year 1 cost and yearly aid. You can compare up to four schools. They all use the same number of years and the same yearly increase, and a table shows each school's net total, the amount to borrow, the debt at graduation and the monthly payment.
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