Use our free college ROI calculator to figure out how much money you can anticipate making back on the money you spend on college. We used our College ROI Data to make this calculator. College ROI Calculator
There is a lot of evidence today that college is worth it. However, the primary factor that determines whether you receive a favourable or unfavourable return on your investment is the amount you personally pay, which represents your net price after accounting for scholarships, grants, and other forms of financial aid. College ROI Calculator
To use the college ROI calculator, simply input your estimated annual spending (including cash and loans), your gender, and the number of years you plan to attend college. Be honest: it’s fine to choose more than four years if that fits you. After that, the calculator will tell you how much money you can expect to make on your investment. College ROI Calculator
What To Know About The College ROI Calculator
When you are trying to figure out whether college is worthwhile, your out-of-pocket cost will be the biggest factor. Yes, your future career path and earnings matter, but our calculator focuses on the average data for graduates. College ROI Calculator
You should keep this in mind, though – because it’s the average this means that a significant number of graduates more than average, but also a significant number earn less. We take a conservative approach to ROI with our calculator. The latest and most comprehensive data shows that upwards of 25% of bachelor’s degrees have a negative ROI.
Cost Of College
This should be the amount you personally pay for your college education. This is the amount you will write a check for (or get a student loan for) after all of your scholarships are awarded. College ROI Calculator
Our calculator will increase the annual cost by 5% per year for each year of college – since your Freshman year is always the cheapest. Typical colleges will see anywhere from a 3% to 8% increase in costs annually (it’s been on the higher end lately due to inflation).
Gender
Gender still has a big impact on lifetime earnings, which in turn factors into whether college is worthwhile. The ROI of college for a woman is about 30% lower than the ROI for men because of the lower lifetime earnings that women typically have.
Years Of College
Finally, how many years you spend in college has a huge impact on ROI because it directly impacts how much you’ll spend.
If you can transfer to a state college after two years of a free community college, you’re going to have a much higher ROI than someone who spends five years at a college. College ROI Calculator
Factors That Could Impact ROI
There are some factors that our college ROI calculator cannot capture and factor in.
Average Data: First, our calculator uses averages. Not all graduates are average. Some will be below average, including those that have a negative ROI (return on investment), and some will be above average, such as doctors and other high-earning professionals. It’s impossible to accurately predict anyone’s future earnings trajectory. This calculator is simply designed to help you understand if you are overpaying for a bachelor’s degree or not – compared to the average. College ROI Calculator
Loan Forgiveness: Second, for certain borrowers who are eligible for loan forgiveness programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness, borrowing may not be a negative ROI factor. These borrowers can work for 10 years in public service, and see their remaining loan balance forgiven. This feature can be a windfall for teachers, who may need to borrow to pay for college, may not have high earnings after graduation, but can get student loan relief. College ROI Calculator