College Savings Calculator

How it works

Start from what one year of college costs today: a College Board 2025-26 average for the type of school, or your own figure. That cost is grown at the inflation rate you enter to the year each school year starts, so a four-year degree that begins in ten years is priced in years 10, 11, 12 and 13.

You do not need the whole amount on the first day. Each later year's bill can stay invested until it is due, so the calculator works out how much you need at enrollment by discounting each year's bill back to the first day of school at your assumed return. Your chosen share of that is the savings goal.

Your current savings are grown to enrollment at the same return, and the monthly contribution is the level end-of-month deposit that closes the remaining gap: the savings-goal formula. If your current savings already reach the goal, the contribution is zero and the excess is shown as a surplus.

Formula

cost in school year k (k = 0 … years − 1) = cost today × (1 + inflation)^(years until + k)
goal at enrollment = share × Σ cost_k ÷ (1 + R)^k,   R = (1 + r ÷ 12)^12 − 1
savings at enrollment = current savings × (1 + r ÷ 12)^(12 × years until)
monthly contribution = (goal − savings at enrollment) × (r ÷ 12) ÷ ((1 + r ÷ 12)^N − 1),   N = 12 × years until
monthly contribution = (goal − savings at enrollment) ÷ N   when r = 0

Example

A child starting a four-year public in-state degree in 10 years, at today's $25,850 a year (College Board 2025-26) growing 5% a year, faces a first-year bill of $42,106.93 and $181,486.11 over four years.

With a 6% return compounded monthly, $165,669.12 at enrollment covers all four years. $10,000 already saved grows to $18,193.97, so saving $899.90 a month for 120 months, $107,988.10 in all, closes the gap.

Assumptions and limitations

• This is an estimate for planning. It is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial, tax or legal advice.
• The default costs are College Board's 2025-26 average published (sticker) prices for tuition, fees, housing and food, from Trends in College Pricing 2025, Table CP-1. They exclude books, transportation and personal costs, and most students pay less after grant aid. Enter your own figure for a specific school.
• College cost inflation and the return are assumptions you enter and are held constant. The 5% default is a typical planning figure, not a forecast; published tuition and fees rose 2.9% to 4.0% from 2024-25 to 2025-26.
• Each school year's cost is paid in full on the first day of that year. Contributions are made at the end of each month until enrollment and stop when school starts; money not yet spent keeps earning the same return.
• Taxes, 529 plan fees, state tax deductions, financial aid and the effect of savings on aid eligibility are not modelled. 529 withdrawals for qualified education expenses are federally tax-free; the return here is before any fees.

Frequently asked questions