What you're expected to pay.

Financial aid for higher education depends on Expected Family Contribution (EFC) - a calculated amount families are assumed to contribute. The gap between college cost and EFC is your need-based aid eligibility. This calculator estimates EFC using user-configurable thresholds so it works across countries and aid systems.

For a 70,000 household income with 20,000 assets, 25,000 income protection allowance, 5% asset contribution rate, and 22% income contribution rate against 30,000 college cost: EFC is 10,900, aid eligibility is 19,100. Adjust the percentages and thresholds to match your specific aid formula.

The tool uses a generalised framework. FAFSA uses specific numbers; student finance uses different approach based on household income bands; uses government student loan thresholds. Input your own formula's parameters to get meaningful numbers for your context.

Quick example

With household income of 70,000 and household assets of 20,000 (plus income protection allowance of 25,000 and asset contribution rate of 5%), the result is 10,900.00. Change any figure and watch the output shift — it's often more useful to see the pattern than to memorise the formula.

Which inputs matter most

You enter Household Income (Annual), Household Assets, Income Protection Allowance, Asset Contribution Rate, and Income Contribution Rate. Not every input has equal weight. Flip one at a time toward extreme values to feel which ones move the needle most for your situation.

What's happening under the hood

Available income = income - protection. Asset contribution = assets × rate. EFC = income × rate + assets × rate. Need-based aid = college cost - EFC (min zero). The formula is listed in full below. If the number looks off, you can retrace the calculation by hand — that's the point of showing the working.

Spreading the cost

Starting earlier always costs less per month than starting late. That's the main lever this tool surfaces. Whatever the total, dividing it by the months until the event gives a monthly target that's easier to build into a budget.

What this doesn't capture

Life events generate side costs the figure doesn't include: time off work, lost income, travel for others, aftercare. Add 10–15% to the direct number as a buffer; the items you haven't thought of usually fill most of it.