Caveat College · Paying for College · Free tool

The whole price of a year,
not just the bill.

Split a college's costs into what it bills and what you pay yourself, compare living on campus, off campus or at home, and see the net price after grants for every year.

Price a collegeLoad the example

Price one college, year by year

Enter the costs from the college's cost of attendance page, choose where the student lives, and add the grants you expect. The projection updates as you type.

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Five words that set the price

Every college publishes these numbers. Knowing which is which keeps a low bill from hiding a high price.

Cost of attendance

The college's estimate of one full year: tuition and fees, housing and food, books and supplies, transportation and personal costs, plus some costs for particular students such as loan fees or dependent care. Federal law defines what it may include, and it caps the aid a student can receive.

Direct costs

What the college bills: tuition, required fees, and campus housing and meal plans if the student lives on campus. Due by the start of each term.

Indirect costs

The rest of the cost of attendance: books, a computer, travel, personal costs, and rent and food for students living off campus. Real money, never on the bill.

Net price

Cost of attendance minus grants and scholarships. It is what a year really costs before loans, savings and earnings pay it, and the fairest number to compare between colleges.

Living at home

Cheaper, rarely free. Colleges set a smaller housing and food allowance for students living with family, and commuting adds its own cost.

What this resource is

Colleges publish a cost of attendance, but the bill shows only part of it and the price changes every year. This calculator lays the whole year out, splits billed from unbilled, and carries it forward with increases you choose and can see.

Part of College · Paying for College in the Caveat Suite

Price a college
Outcome
A full-year cost of attendance for one college, split into what the college bills and what you pay yourself, for three living set-ups, with a year-by-year projection and the net price after grants.
Who it is for
Families and students pricing a college before an aid offer arrives, or checking one against it; counselors helping them.
Format
A browser calculator. Print the projection, download a spreadsheet, or save a file to reopen later.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-up. Nothing you type leaves this browser.
Time
About 10 minutes with the college's cost page open.
Space
College · Paying for College primary space
Support
Questions or a problem with this tool: team@caveatacademic.com

Sources

  • Federal Student Aid, cost of attendance (what a college's budget includes and how it limits aid): studentaid.gov
  • Higher Education Act of 1965, section 472 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll), the legal definition of cost of attendance, as amended by the FAFSA Simplification Act: law.cornell.edu
  • Net price calculators, which every college that takes federal student aid must post on its website (Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008), and College Navigator for published costs: nces.ed.gov
  • College Scorecard, average annual cost after aid by college: collegescorecard.ed.gov

General information, not financial advice. Lakeshore State University and its figures are made up for the example. Increases in later years are your assumptions, not forecasts; grants are held flat after the first year unless you change them. Check every amount with the college's financial aid office.