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How much might college cost after financial aid?

College Financial Aid Calculator

Estimate your college costs after grants, scholarships, and other financial aid.

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  • No Sign-Up Required
  • No Personal Information Required

Independent site, not a government agency. Every result is an estimate.

Your College Costs and Financial Aid

Enter yearly amounts. Leave a line blank if it does not apply; it counts as $0. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

$

Estimated annual tuition and required fees.

$

Estimated annual housing and meal costs.

$

Estimated annual cost of books, course materials and supplies.

$

Estimated annual transportation expenses.

$

Other estimated annual education-related expenses.

$

Financial aid that generally does not need to be repaid, although program conditions may apply.

$

Financial assistance that generally does not need to be repaid if applicable requirements are met.

$

Money a student may earn through eligible employment.

$

Borrowed money that generally must be repaid, usually with interest.

$

Other estimated financial assistance.

$

Amount you expect to pay from savings, income or other personal funds.

Uses only the amounts you enter. It does not estimate your Student Aid Index, Pell Grant eligibility or any college's aid offer.

Your Result

Enter your college costs and aid to see what may be left to pay.

Not All Financial Aid Works the Same Way

Type of aid Repaid? What it means for you
Grants Generally no Usually based on financial need. Some must be repaid if you withdraw or stop meeting a program's conditions.
Scholarships Generally no Often based on merit, talent or a field of study, and may require a minimum grade average or full-time enrollment to renew.
Work-study No Paid as wages for hours worked in a part-time job, usually during the year rather than up front.
Student loans Yes Borrowed money that generally must be repaid, usually with interest. Federal student loans usually come due after you leave school or drop below half-time enrollment.

This calculator provides an estimate based on the information you enter. It is not an official financial aid offer. Actual costs and financial aid can vary by college, enrollment status, FAFSA information and school policies. Federal student aid, and the FAFSA, are explained at studentaid.gov.

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Just four basic questions to get your personalized estimate immediately.

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How Much Will College Cost After Financial Aid?

Your cost after financial aid is the year's total college cost minus the financial aid you receive. If a college costs $30,000 a year and you are offered $18,000 in aid, about $12,000 is left to pay. Count loans separately: they cover part of this year's bill, but they generally must be repaid later, usually with interest.

Estimated remaining cost = total college cost − total financial aid − personal contribution

Hypothetical example, in round numbers:

  • Annual college costs: $38,000
  • Grants and scholarships: $12,000
  • Work-study: $2,000
  • Student loans: $5,000
  • Estimated remaining cost: $19,000

Example only — not a typical or guaranteed result. Of the $19,000 in aid, the $5,000 loan would generally have to be repaid.

How the College Financial Aid Calculator Works

The calculator adds up three things you enter and subtracts one from another. Nothing is looked up, and no federal formula is applied:

  • Total college cost = tuition and fees + room and board + books and supplies + transportation + other expenses.
  • Total financial aid = grants + scholarships + work-study + student loans + other financial aid.
  • Estimated remaining cost = total college cost − total financial aid − your optional contribution. If aid and your contribution are more than the cost, the remaining cost is shown as $0.

The simple 4-year estimate multiplies each yearly figure by four. It does not add tuition increases, and it does not assume that any grant or scholarship renews.

What Counts as Financial Aid?

Financial aid is money that helps pay for college, from the federal government, your state, the college or private organizations. These definitions are how the calculator groups it:

  • Financial aid Financial aid is money that helps a student pay for college, including grants, scholarships, work-study and student loans. Some financial aid, such as grants and scholarships, generally does not need to be repaid; student loans generally must be repaid, usually with interest.
  • Grant A grant is financial aid for college that generally does not need to be repaid, usually awarded based on financial need. A grant may have to be repaid in part if a student withdraws or stops meeting the program's conditions.
  • Scholarship A scholarship is money for college that generally does not need to be repaid if its requirements are met. Scholarships come from colleges, states and private organizations and are often based on merit, talent or a field of study.
  • Work-study Work-study is financial aid a student earns by working a part-time job, usually on or near campus. It is paid as wages for hours worked during the school year, so it is not available up front to pay a tuition bill.
  • Student loan A student loan is borrowed money for college that generally must be repaid, usually with interest. Federal student loans come from the U.S. Department of Education; private student loans come from banks and other lenders.
  • College cost College cost is the total estimated cost of a year of college: tuition and fees, housing and food, books and supplies, transportation and other expenses. Colleges publish this figure as their cost of attendance.
  • Remaining cost Remaining cost is what is left of a year's college cost after subtracting financial aid and any amount a family or student plans to contribute. On this calculator it is never shown below $0.

Turning Your Estimate Into a Plan

An estimate is a starting point. These steps turn it into a plan:

  1. Compare the costs you entered with the college's published cost of attendance.
  2. Review the college's financial aid offer when it arrives, line by line.
  3. Separate grants and scholarships from loans and work-study before comparing colleges.
  4. Check what it takes to renew each grant and scholarship in later years.
  5. Compare the remaining cost with what your family or the student can realistically contribute.

If you have not filed it, start with the FAFSA at StudentAid.gov, the application for federal grants, work-study and federal student loans.

To see what students like you paid at a specific college, use that college's net price calculator, listed at the Department of Education's Net Price Calculator Center.

Related reading: education tax credits (AOTC and the Lifetime Learning Credit) and SNAP rules for college students.

Official Sources

The definitions on this page follow these official pages. BenefitCalculators.com is not affiliated with any of them.

Important Disclaimer

This calculator provides an estimate based on the information you enter. It is not an official financial aid offer. Actual costs and financial aid can vary by college, enrollment status, FAFSA information and school policies. studentaid.gov

How Accurate Is This Estimate?

The arithmetic is exact: every line you enter is added to the cent, and the remaining cost is the costs minus the aid and contribution you entered. How close it comes to what you will pay depends on your figures. A college's actual charges, your enrollment status, a change in your FAFSA information, aid that does not renew and the college's own policies can all move the real number, and only the college's financial aid offer and bill are final.