How This College Cost Calculator Works
First-year cost at enrollment = current annual cost × (1 + cost growth)years until college. Total cost = that first-year figure grown by the same rate for each additional year of college. Already-saved money grows at your assumed return to enrollment, and the monthly saving needed is the amount that, deposited monthly at that return, accumulates the remaining gap by enrollment: monthly = gap × monthly return ÷ ((1 + monthly return)months − 1).
First year = cost × (1 + g)years · Total = Σ first year × (1 + g)k · Monthly = gap × r ÷ ((1 + r)n − 1)g = annual college cost growth, r = monthly return on savings, n = months until college.
Worked example: $30,000 a year today, college in 10 years, 4% annual cost growth, 4 years of college, nothing saved yet, 5% return on savings. First-year cost then = $30,000 × 1.0410 = $44,407.33. Four-year total = $188,574.12. Monthly saving needed at 5% = $1,214.40.
Practical tips
Public in-state, public out-of-state and private costs differ by tens of thousands a year. Run the calculator for each tier you might realistically consider.
At 3% instead of 4%, the same example's four-year total falls to about $171,000; at 5% it rises past $207,000. Re-run it every couple of years as real costs become clearer.
This calculator funds the full cost from savings. If loans will cover part of it, reduce the target by the amount you are willing to borrow — and see our Student Loan Payoff Calculator for the repayment side.
Many states offer a deduction or credit for 529 contributions, and qualified withdrawals are federally tax-free. The return assumption above is before any such benefit.