College Cost Calculator
Project the future cost of college for a given number of years, accounting for college cost inflation.
Even though tuition inflation is applied at the same 5%/yr the whole way, each year of college costs more than the last just from starting later — tap a bar to see that year's cost.
- Total Cost (4 years)$196,580.70
About the College Cost Calculator
Projecting future college costs with a single inflation rate seems straightforward, but there's a detail that trips people up: tuition inflation doesn't stop compounding once a student enrolls. Every year of a four-year degree is that many years further from today, so even at a flat inflation rate, senior year costs noticeably more than freshman year — it's not four copies of the same inflated number.
This calculator compounds the current annual cost forward for each individual year of enrollment, not just up to the year school starts, so the total reflects that year-over-year climb realistically instead of understating it with one flat multiplier.
It's aimed at parents and students trying to project a real savings target years before enrollment, when the sticker price you're comparing against is today's, not the one you'll actually be billed.
The cost figures you enter stay in your browser — nothing about your college planning is sent anywhere.
How it’s calculated
Each year of college gets its own compounding exponent: year one of enrollment compounds for (years until enrollment) years, year two compounds for one year more than that, and so on through the last year — because each successive year of school is that much further in the future from today.
The total is the sum of all those individually-inflated yearly costs, not the first year's inflated cost multiplied by the number of years — which is why the total climbs faster than a naive single-year estimate times four would suggest.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the last year of college cost more than the first year at the same inflation rate?
Because it's further in the future. The first year of school is only compounded up to the enrollment date, but each following year is that much later still, so it keeps compounding through more years of inflation even though the annual rate never changes.
What's a realistic college cost inflation rate to assume?
Tuition inflation has historically run higher than general consumer inflation over long stretches, though the rate varies by school type and year. Running the numbers at a couple of different rates — a conservative one and a higher one — gives a more useful range than trusting a single figure.
Does this include room, board, books and other costs, or just tuition?
Whatever you enter as the current annual cost is what gets projected — if you want total cost of attendance rather than tuition alone, use a total cost-of-attendance figure as your starting input.
How much should I be saving now based on this projection?
Once you have the projected total, the finance/TVM calculator can work backward from that as a target future value to the monthly savings contribution needed to reach it by enrollment.
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