To use our calculator, you may accept the defaults, or fill in your own annual values. Then click on Calculate. You may change any values and recalculate as often as you wish. Be aware that the average four year education is quickly becoming the average five year education due to lack of availability of classes. This calculator is designed to help you plan your children's paid educational needs by estimating the future cost of fees, taking into account personal savings, investments and inflation. We strongly suggest you consult your own financial advisor. At best, this calculator is an approximation, based on your entries. Use at your own risk.
The average cost of a year's tuition, room and board, and fees at a private college in 2002 was $22,541, based on (source: CollegeBoard.Com). Most experts predict that the cost of private college will increase at a rate of about 5% or more per year. Here is a chart of what the average cost of a year of private college would be through 2017, based on a conservative 5% annual cost growth.
Of course, if your child decides on one of the most prestigious private schools, the cost will be even more. This year, most of the top colleges have crossed the $33,000-a-year barrier. In five years, at 5% growth per year, that will be over $42,000. The average cost of a year's tuition, room and board, and fees at a public university last year was $8,470 (source: CollegeBoard.Com). Many experts predict that the cost of public university will also increase at a rate of about 5% or more per year over the next decade. Here is a chart of what the average conservative cost of a year of public university could cost through 2017, assuming public education stays alive that long.
Of course, if you are attending one of the "public prestige schools" such as the University of Michigan as an out-of-state resident, the annual cost right now is already over $27,000. In five years, at a 5% growth rate per year, that would be nearly $34,500.
About 29 percent of students attending four-year colleges pay less than $4,000 for tuition and fees per year.
Almost 70 percent of students attending four-year colleges pay less than $8,000 for tuition and fees per year.
Only 8 percent of all students attend colleges where tuition and fees total $24,000 and over per year.
43 percent of all students attend two-year colleges. The average tuition and fees for a public two-year college is less than $2,000 per year.
Students will pay, on average, from $337 to $368 more than last year for this year's room and board, depending on the type of college.
The average surcharge for out-of-state or out-of-district students at public institutions is $3,967 at two-year colleges and $7,046 at four-year colleges.
A record $105 billion in financial aid is available to students and their families, an increase of 12 percent over last year.
Almost 60 percent of undergraduate students receive some form of financial aid.
Almost half of all college students receive grant aid. In 2002-2003 grant aid averaged almost $2,000 per student in two-year public colleges, over $2,400 at public four-year colleges, and about $7,300 per student at private four-year colleges.