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Degree Value

Try a simple college cost example.

Start with yearly cost and time in school. Open the pay section only when you want to test those assumptions too.

Sample assumptions

Start with 2 numbers

The first result uses only these two numbers. Costs not included and pay assumptions stay in the next section.

$
Use the school’s estimate for your situation, not sticker price.
Fine-tune the exampleCosts not included and pay assumptions
$
Do not add housing, food, books, or transportation again if your first number already includes them.
$
Enter zero if this does not apply to your plan.
$
$
First look

Quick cost check

Yearly cost × years$74,000

Assumes the same yearly cost for every year. It excludes costs not included, loan interest, and pay you might give up. Use the full example before making a decision.

See the full cost and pay exampleUses 5 more sample assumptions
Illustrative only

Your 10-year example

College and time cost$170,000College costs plus pay given up
Extra pay in this example$270,000Difference between the two pay inputs
Example difference$100,000Extra pay minus the modeled cost
Modeled cost
$170K
Extra earnings
$270K
Time after college to break evenAbout 6.3 years after college in this example

This divides the modeled cost by the annual earnings difference to find a break-even point.

This simple scenario ignores

Taxes, wage growth, inflation, discounting, completion risk, unemployment, private debt, loan interest, further education, geographic differences, and individual variation.

Assumptions used
  • $18,500 annual cost for 4 years
  • $0 in costs not included in the yearly number
  • $24,000 in yearly earnings given up
  • $72,000 versus $45,000 in annual earnings
  • 10 years after college, with no growth or discounting

This is not an ROI score. Past earnings cannot predict your pay or show what the college caused. Any production earnings figure must name its source, year, and student group.