College Cost Calculator
Grow today's annual college cost by an inflation rate until school starts, then sum each inflated year of attendance. Optional savings rate sketches deposits. Informational, not financial advice.
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How to estimate college costs
- Enter today's annual cost for the school type you have in mind.
- Enter education inflation, years until the first term, and years of attendance.
- Read first-year cost at start and the sum across the college span.
- Optional: enter a savings return to sketch deposits that target that total.
- Grants and tax benefits are omitted. Informational, not financial advice.
College cost inflation
Inflated annual costs summed over attendance
| Year cost | Current × (1 + inflation)^yearsFromNow |
|---|---|
| First year | Inflated to the start year |
| Total | Sum of each attendance year at its own inflation age |
| Optional savings | Annuity payment toward the total |
| Years in college | 1 to 8 on this form |
| Advice | Informational. Not financial advice. |
What this college cost page estimates
Tuition and related costs often rise faster than general prices. This page inflates a single annual cost figure to each academic year, then adds those years together. It is a planning sketch, not a bill from a college.
Inflation math
Cost in a future year = current annual cost × (1 + inflation/100)^yearsFromToday. The total sums that expression for each year of attendance starting at years-until-college. Optional savings invert a future-value annuity toward that total.
Related pages
General compounding: compound interest. Long-horizon savings: retirement savings. Inflation as its own topic: inflation calculator.
Use cases
529 contribution conversations. Comparing four-year versus five-year attendance under the same inflation. Teaching why waiting raises the sticker.
Worked example
$25,000 today, 5% education inflation, 10 years until start, 4 years in college. First-year cost is 25000 × 1.05^10. Years two through four inflate one more year each. The page sums all four.
Limits
No scholarships, room-and-board split, or state prepaid plans. Informational, not financial advice. See the disclaimer.