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College Cost Calculator

Estimate your total annual and multi-year college costs, including tuition, housing, and other expenses.

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About the College Cost Calculator

Estimate your total annual college costs — tuition, housing, books, food, transportation, and other expenses — and project the full cost over your years of study.

How to use the College Cost Calculator

  1. Enter your annual tuition, housing, books, food, transportation, and other expenses.
  2. Enter how many years you'll be studying, and optionally an expected annual cost increase.
  3. Press Calculate to see your annual cost and total cost over the full study period.

Tips for the College Cost Calculator

  • Leave the annual increase at 0% to assume costs stay flat every year.

Formula used by the College Cost Calculator

Annual Cost = Tuition + Housing + Books + Food + Transportation + Other Total Cost = Σ (Annual Cost × (1 + Increase %)^(year − 1)) for each year of study

Example: College Cost Calculator

A 4-year degree with $28,700/year in costs, rising 3% annually

  • Tuition / Housing: $12,000 / $9,000
  • Books / Food / Transport / Other: $1,200 / $4,000 / $1,500 / $1,000
  • Years / annual increase: 4 / 3%

Result: Year 1 cost $28,700; total cost over 4 years ≈ $120,070.09

Summing the annual $28,700 cost across 4 years, each escalated 3% from the previous year (28,700 × (1.03)^0, ^1, ^2, ^3), totals approximately $120,070.09.

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