With many students overburdened with debt after graduation and parents stretching to pay for college beyond their ability to repay, it makes sense to plan ahead and know your options before making a decision about college. The College Board at FinAid.org provides parents and students with several different college cost calculators to help families plan for college costs.
The three most commonly used calculators are as follows:
College Cost Projector
Since college costs increase at about twice the inflation rate, this calculator helps project how much college will cost when you are ready to enroll. In order to calculate the costs, you would enter the current costs of attendance and the number of years until attendance. The calculator then projects the estimated cost.
EFC (Expected Family Contribution) Calculator
This form is used to calculate the financial need which is used by colleges to determine the financial aid package. It calculates the need for a single year and helps you know in advance the amount colleges will expect you to pay toward your college education. This figure will also determine the amount of financial aid you receive.
Loan Repayment Calculator
This calculator computes an estimate of the size of your monthly loan payments and the annual salary required to manage them. Students should always calculate the loan repayment amounts before taking on loans that they are unable to repay upon graduation. Once calculated, this tool gives you an estimated annual salary needed to afford repayment.
FinAid.org also offers many more calculators that can help you plan and budget for college. Here’s the extensive list with links:
Costs
Savings
- Savings Plan Designer (Flat Contribution)
- Savings Plan Designer Chart (Flat Contribution)
- Savings Plan Designer (Percent of Income Contribution)
- Savings Growth Projector
- Annual Yield
- Compound Interest
- Savings Plan Yield
- Prepaid Tuition and 529 College Savings Plan Calculator
- Savings vs Borrowing Calculator
Integrated Saving/Borrowing
- Level Payment Calculator (Amount)
- Level Payment Calculator (Percent of Income)
- Inverted Level Payment Calculator (Amount)
- Inverted Level Payment Calculator (Percent of Income)
Trust Funds
Needs Analysis
- Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid or
- Quick EFC Approximation Calculator (not EFC)
- Federal Housing Index
Loans
- Loan Calculator (Standard and Extended Repayment)
- Loan Payment Chart Generator (Rates vs Fees)
- Loan Payment Chart Generator (Balance vs Rates)
- Income Sensitive Repayment Loan Payment Calculator
- Graduated Repayment Loan Payment Calculator
- Loan Consolidation Calculator
- How Much to Borrow Calculator
- Parent Loan Advisor
- Stafford vs. PLUS Comparison Chart
- No-Fee Equivalent Interest Rate
- No-Fee Equivalent Interest Rate Chart
- Loan Comparison
- Cost of Interest Capitalization
- Loan Interest Rate Inverter
- Loan Term Inverter
- Loan Discount Analyzer
The Loan Discount Analyzer combines, enhances and replaces the Loan Analyzer and the Loan Discounts.
Loan Default
Peer-to-Peer Loans
Budgeting
Award Letter Comparison
Insurance
(Privacy guarantee: None of the information you enter in these calculators will be saved, and no record of your sessions will be stored anywhere.)
It is always wise to know your college costs before you make a college choice. Knowing these figures also helps you when evaluating financial aid packages and comparing the various offers from the colleges you are considering.