The average cost of attendance for your child will depend on how old they are today, and how much gift aid they will qualify for.
| Household Income | Grants And Scholarships | AVG 4 Year Cost |
|---|---|---|
| $0 - $30,000 | $40,000 | $2,473 |
| $0 - $30,000 | $40,000 | $2,473 |
| $0 - $30,000 | $40,000 | $2,473 |
| $0 - $30,000 | $40,000 | $2,473 |
| $0 - $30,000 | $40,000 | $2,473 |
| $0 - $30,000 | $40,000 | $2,473 |
The net price shown is the total cost of attendance, including tuition, fees and room and board, less any gift aid your child receives. Gift aid includes grants, scholarships and any other money that does not need to be earned through work or repaid. Projected college costs assume a 2.55% annual increase in costs.
Most families will aim to save less than 100% of their total projected college costs. Your child may receive grants or scholarships towards college, and you may use loans or current income to pay a portion of the costs. The chart below illustrates the monthly contributions necessary to meet different targets, and how much they increase each year you wait to start saving.
Total Debt after GraduationThis is the total amount your child will have to pay back after graduation. It includes the amount borrowed (principal), plus any loan fees and interest accrued while they are in school or during the grace period before repayment begins.
Monthly Loan paymentThis is the amount your child will be expected to pay each month toward their loan balance. This tool assumes a 10-year repayment term and a 6% interest rate. Generally, the monthly loan payment will be about 1% of the total debt at graduation.
Total student loan payments during life of loanThis is the total amount your child will have to repay, including principal and interest. This tool assumes a 10-year repayment term and a 6% interest rate.
When helping your child evaluate student loan options, be sure to consider both the monthly loan payment and the total payments. The monthly payments can be reduced by extending the loan term, but your child will end up paying more over time in interest.
A smarter way to reduce your child's future monthly payments is to start saving money well before college. Every dollar you save for your child will reduce the amount they will have to borrow and pay back with interest.
The more you save for your child before college, the less they will have to pay back after college. A good rule of thumb is to keep total debt less than your child's expected annual income. That way they should be able to afford to repay their loans in 10 years or less.
You'll also want to compare your child's monthly payments to their monthly income. Anything less than 10% is considered affordable, 15% is a stretch, and anything over 20% is not recommended.
This analysis is based on projections of college savings and college costs. It demonstrates the impact of savings on debt after graduation. The more you save, the less you'll have to borrow. This tool can help you determine how much you need to save to ensure that your child graduates with an affordable amount of debt at each college or university.
This tool assumes that a college's net price will continue to increase at the same rate as recent increases. It also assumes that the earnings in a college savings plan will reflect historical averages. Since past performance is not necessarily predictive of future performance, actual cost and return figures may vary. This tool is intended to educate consumers about the relationship between college savings and student loan debt.
