College Cost Planner

Household income and GPA/SAT-based merit scholarship estimates only feed into the standalone Cost Estimate mode's aid calculation -- Comprehensive mode uses a separate, simpler aid figure keyed only to household income bracket for the funding-gap calculation. Total college cost itself is driven entirely by college type, years of college, number of children, inflation rate, and years until college, not by income or academic figures.

Total college cost scales close to proportionally with number of children, since each additional child is assumed to need the full projected per-child cost independently -- planning for two children roughly doubles the total versus one, and across its full 1-6 child range this is one of the largest single levers on the total figure.

Projected savings combines the future value of your current 529 balance, compounded at the expected return rate over the years until college, plus the future value of your ongoing monthly contributions as a standard compounding annuity. Both monthly contribution and expected return move the projection directly -- a higher contribution or a higher assumed return both grow projected savings, though a higher assumed return carries more real-world uncertainty.

No -- aid estimates use flat historical averages for Pell Grant and need-based aid tied to income brackets, not an actual FAFSA or Expected Family Contribution calculation, which also weighs assets, dependency status, family size, and state-specific factors. Treat the aid figures here as a rough planning reference, not a substitute for running a real FAFSA estimate closer to application time.