My college option
Select a public college field in the option editor to attach historical context. A manual option does not need a catalog match.
The aid offer calculator
Read the offer.
See your net cost.
Start with one offer. Separate gift aid from borrowing, then build the budget around your life.
Your numbers, kept local
No account or upload.
Add another option whenever you’re ready.
Personal cost worksheet
Files & print
Nothing is saved until you choose to save or export. CSV imports use the documented template. Keep a JSON export to reopen your complete worksheet.
| U.S. dollarsYour entered periods | My college option1 academic yearSubtotal only · assumptions unresolved |
|---|---|
| Direct / billed costs | $0.00 |
| Indirect costs | $0.00 |
| Total entered costs | $0.00 |
| Confirmed grants & scholarships | $0.00 |
| Net costCosts less confirmed gift aid | $0.00 |
| Borrowing · principal | $0.00 |
| Loan fees withheld | $0.00 |
| Borrowing · net proceeds | $0.00 |
| Assumed earningsWork-study starts at $0 | $0.00 |
| Cash neededAfter selected loans and earnings | $0.00 |
| Planned own funds | $0.00 |
| Funding gapCash needed less own funds | $0.00 |
| Review before relying on this plan | The full program duration and all academic years have not been confirmed.These are budget totals, not a bill-payment schedule. Without actual due dates and disbursement dates, a year total cannot establish whether money arrives in time. |
Borrowing changes how you pay; it does not reduce net cost. Work-study is not guaranteed. These are period budgets, not a schedule of cash available when a bill is due.
Published historical context Separate from your personal plan
Federal field-of-study records can combine programs and campuses. Historical outcomes do not predict your salary.
Work through one offer
Start with the amounts you know. Leave the rest to review.
Edit My college option
Scenario labels do not adjust costs automatically. Enter the actual amounts that apply to that residency, living arrangement, and course load. Use a duplicated option to compare different assumptions.
1. Set the calendar
A term amount is counted once for that named term. An academic-year amount is counted once for that year. Whole-program amounts are counted once and are not assigned to any year. Enter each expense only once; do not enter both its annual total and its term parts.
Repeat entered amounts in another year
Use this only when you have a reason to expect the same costs and funding. Copies are editable, and renewal conditions still apply. Copied one-time or unknown-renewal aid is excluded until you explicitly review it again. Whole-program entries are never repeated.
2. Costs
Billed costs are paid to the college. Indirect costs are your separate living and study expenses. A housing or meal charge can be either; mark where you actually pay it.
01
College bill Tuition
02
College bill Mandatory fees
03
Indirect expense Housing
04
Indirect expense Food
05
Indirect expense Books and supplies
06
Indirect expense Transportation
07
Indirect expense Other costs
3. Grants & scholarships
Only amounts you explicitly confirm are subtracted from costs. Keep offered, accepted, and estimated aid distinct. Record renewal requirements, and enter an amount for each applicable period; selecting “renewable” does not copy money into another year.
No gift aid entered.
4. Financing choices
Selected loans and assumed earnings can reduce cash needed. They never reduce net cost. A loan is optional even if it appears on the offer.
Loans
No borrowing selected.
Assumed earnings
Default: $0. A work-study award is permission to seek eligible work, not a guaranteed paycheck. Enter only the amount you choose to assume you will actually earn; earnings may arrive after tuition is due.
Own funds
Savings or other funds you plan to contribute. Do not enter the same earnings, gift aid, or loan twice.
See the calculation by academic year
| Academic year | Costs | Gift aid | Net cost | Loan proceeds | Earnings | Cash needed | Own funds | Funding gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Net cost = costs − confirmed gift aid. Cash needed = max(0, net cost − selected loan net proceeds − assumed earnings). Funding gap = max(0, cash needed − own funds). Unused funding in one academic year is not silently applied to another year.
Whole-program entries appear in the comparison subtotal but are not allocated to individual years. For a useful annual budget, assign entries to a particular year or term.
Illustrate a fixed loan payment
An independent, fixed-rate amortization example. Enter the balance at the start of repayment, including any interest already added. This does not model in-school interest, federal repayment plans, eligibility, or forgiveness. These illustration inputs are not included in saved comparisons.
Enter your own rate; none is assumed.
For actual federal repayment options, use the Federal Student Aid Loan Simulator.
Save on this device
Saving is optional and uses this browser’s IndexedDB storage. Other people using this browser profile may be able to open it. Browser clearing or private browsing can remove it. A JSON export is a portable backup. Opening a saved comparison replaces the open worksheet.
Entered assumptions & annual budgets
Amounts are in U.S. dollars. This report contains private financial information. Loans and assumed earnings do not reduce net cost. It does not establish aid eligibility or predict earnings. Period budgets do not establish when funds arrive.
My college option
Not entered · Not entered · Not entered. Incomplete program estimate; figures are entered subtotals.
| Academic year | Costs | Gift aid | Net cost | Loan proceeds | Earnings | Cash needed | Own funds | Funding gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
- Tuition: $0.00 · Year 1 · costs · billed
- Mandatory fees: $0.00 · Year 1 · costs · billed
- Housing: $0.00 · Year 1 · costs · indirect
- Food: $0.00 · Year 1 · costs · indirect
- Books and supplies: $0.00 · Year 1 · costs · indirect
- Transportation: $0.00 · Year 1 · costs · indirect
- Other costs: $0.00 · Year 1 · costs · indirect
The full program duration and all academic years have not been confirmed.
These are budget totals, not a bill-payment schedule. Without actual due dates and disbursement dates, a year total cannot establish whether money arrives in time.
Understanding the offer
Which parts actually
lower your cost?
Grants and scholarships generally do not need to be repaid when their conditions are met. Confirm the year, amount, enrollment requirements, and renewal conditions for each award. Offered, accepted, and estimated awards are different states in this worksheet.
A loan is financing you repay. Its principal can be larger than the cash disbursed if a fee is withheld. Work-study is a potential source of earned wages: an award alone does not guarantee a job, hours, or pay. Assumed earnings start at zero.
When a subtotal is
the honest answer.
An unknown duration or scholarship renewal can change the full-program cost. The calculator shows the periods entered and lists what remains uncertain instead of assuming a two-year total. Excess gift aid is a reason to check the award’s conditions, not a promise of a refund.
Read Federal Student Aid’s guides to evaluating aid offers and understanding work-study. This worksheet does not determine eligibility.