Quantus Tools

College Tuition Planner

College cost and funding plan

Costs inflate on their own assumption; savings compound on another. What separates them is the funding gap.

Cost assumptions
Today's published cost for the kind of institution you are planning for. Include whatever you intend to fund — tuition and fees, housing and food, books, travel.
Your assumption, not a published figure. Education costs have historically risen faster than general prices.
Funding target
Set below 100% if income, work or family help will cover part of the bill.
A scholarship, grant or family contribution you already know about, in the dollars of each college year. This is your figure — Quantus does not estimate financial aid.
Savings plan
Optional. Applied at the start of each new saving year.
Net of fees and any tax the account actually pays. Returns are not guaranteed. Treated as an effective annual return: the period rate is its exact n-th root, so the contribution frequency never changes the annual return you assumed.
Sensitivity band
Projected funding gap
$72,588

Savings are targeted to cover $168,498 of a projected $168,498 total cost, and reach 56.9% of that target.

Projected first-year cost$39,093Today's $24,000 inflated 10 years
Projected total cost$168,4984 years, last year $45,256
Target from savings$168,498100% of cost
Savings at enrollment$91,852$48,000 contributed, $28,852 growth
Funded from savings$95,91056.9% of the total projected cost
Projected shortfall$72,588First short in college year 3
Required monthly saving$784$384 more than you save now
Investment growth$32,910Against $48,000 of contributions

Savings cover college years 1–2 completely and $15,769 of college year 3.

Where the funded amount comes from
  • Starting savings and contributions: $63,000 (68.6%)
  • Investment growth: $28,852 (31.4%)

Only the current annual cost is a figure you should source. Cost inflation, return and attendance length are assumptions you chose, and the sensitivity table below shows how much they matter.

Projected cost of each academic year
College yearYears from nowProjected costOther fundingTarget from savingsCumulative cost
110$39,093$0$39,093$39,093
211$41,048$0$41,048$80,142
312$43,101$0$43,101$123,242
413$45,256$0$45,256$168,498

Inflation keeps running during college, so each year costs more than the one before it.

Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen to see every column.

Funding gap under different assumptions (cost inflation ±2 points, return ±2 points)
Cost inflation ↓ / Return →4% return6% return8% return
Lower cost inflation (3%)$51,417$37,714$20,025
Selected cost inflation (5%)$85,848$72,588$56,475
Higher cost inflation (7%)$127,388$115,086$99,703

Each cell is the funding gap for that pair of assumptions. Cost inflation and investment return pull in opposite directions, which is why they are shown together rather than one at a time.

Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen to see every column.

Year-by-year plan, saving through to the final bill
YearPhaseStarting savingsProjected costPaid from savingsContributionsGrowthShortfallEnding savings
Year 1Saving$15,000$0$0$4,800$1,031$0$20,831
Year 2Saving$20,831$0$0$4,800$1,380$0$27,011
Year 3Saving$27,011$0$0$4,800$1,751$0$33,562
Year 4Saving$33,562$0$0$4,800$2,144$0$40,507
Year 5Saving$40,507$0$0$4,800$2,561$0$47,868
Year 6Saving$47,868$0$0$4,800$3,003$0$55,670
Year 7Saving$55,670$0$0$4,800$3,471$0$63,941
Year 8Saving$63,941$0$0$4,800$3,967$0$72,708
Year 9Saving$72,708$0$0$4,800$4,493$0$82,001
Year 10Saving$82,001$0$0$4,800$5,051$0$91,852
College year 1College$91,852$39,093$39,093$0$3,166$0$55,924
College year 2College$55,924$41,048$41,048$0$893$0$15,769
College year 3College$15,769$43,101$15,769$0$0$27,332$0
College year 4College$0$45,256$0$0$0$45,256$0

During college the bill is settled at the start of each academic year, and only the remaining balance earns a return for that year.

Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen to see every column.