| It is not an easy task figuring out how much money | | | | one-third to half of the total projected costs of their |
| you will need to pay for college, or in determining | | | | child's college education. The best time to start a |
| how much you need to save before entering school | | | | college savings plan is when the child is born. |
| and the amount of aid that you will require. However, | | | | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) |
| there are numerous financial aid calculators available | | | | This calculator is used to figure out the amount that |
| to help you determine how much your schooling will | | | | your family is expected to contribute to your college |
| cost, what amount you need to save and the | | | | costs. Ones like this allow you to gain insight |
| financial aid that you will need. Here is a list of the | | | | regarding your financial aid eligibility. Remember, that |
| four most popular financial aid calculators available | | | | the purpose of financial aid is to help with the costs |
| online. | | | | of attending college that your family can't pay for. It |
| College Cost Projector | | | | is the total costs of college minus the expected |
| If you a more than a couple of years away from | | | | family contribution that is considered your financial |
| attending college, the yearly rise in college tuition | | | | need. Your financial need is in turn the amount of |
| makes it difficult to determine how much college will | | | | financial aid you are eligible to get. |
| cost when you get there. The calculators can help | | | | Loan Payment Calculator |
| you estimate what it the costs of college will be for | | | | These type of financial aid calculators are used to |
| you. The average yearly increases in college costs is | | | | compute an estimate of the amount you will have to |
| about 5-8% and this calculator estimates the costs | | | | pay in monthly loan payments and the annual salary |
| of college for when you will enter college. This | | | | that you will need to have in order to be able to pay |
| calculator uses the current one-year costs of tuition, | | | | your student financial aid loans. These types of |
| room and board, fees, travel and incidental expenses, | | | | calculators can be used with a variety of federal |
| combined with the number of years until you | | | | education loans. In the Loan Payment Calculator, it is |
| graduate high school to figure out estimated costs of | | | | assumed that the interest rate of the loan and the |
| when you enter college. | | | | monthly installment will remain the same during the |
| Savings Plan Designer (Flat Contribution) | | | | duration of the loan repayment period. |
| Once you have established your college savings goal, | | | | These are just a few of the financial aid calculators |
| the calculators such as the Savings Plan Designer can | | | | available to assist you in planning your before, during |
| assist you in figuring out how much you need to put | | | | and after college finances. With the costs of |
| away monthly into an interest earnings savings | | | | attending college ever increasing, it is imperative that |
| account to be able to attain your goal. It is | | | | a sound financial plan be completed by the student |
| suggested that parents try and save anywhere from | | | | and their family prior to enrolling. |