How Much Will College Cost in the Future
Results
Visualization
How It Works
The simulator compounds the current annual tuition at your chosen inflation rate for each year until college starts (18 minus the child's age) and then for the four years of attendance. Future annual cost equals Current x (1 + rate)^years, and the four-year total sums the four individually inflated years. The cost multiple is simply the future annual cost divided by today's. Because the exponent grows with the horizon, small differences in the inflation rate produce large differences over 15 to 18 years, which the chart makes obvious as an accelerating curve.
What Should You Do?
Use a range of rates when planning, not a single number. College tuition has often risen faster than general inflation, so a 4-6% assumption is reasonable, but stress-test with 7-8% to see the downside. Whatever rate you pick, the takeaway is the same: the earlier you start saving, the less raw dollars you need because compounding works longer. Pair this with the college savings reverse calculator to turn the projected cost into a concrete monthly contribution.
Frequently Asked Questions
What inflation rate is realistic?
Published college-cost indexes have often shown 3-8% depending on the decade and sector. Using 5% is a common planning midpoint; higher is more conservative.
Does this include room and board?
It models the tuition figure you enter. Add room and board separately, or enter a total annual cost of attendance for a fuller picture.
Will scholarships offset this?
Possibly, but scholarship availability is uncertain. Plan against the gross cost and treat aid as a bonus that reduces what you must save.
Why does the curve accelerate?
Compounding is exponential: each year's cost is based on the prior year's already-inflated cost, so the gap versus today widens faster over time.