Know your loan costs and payments before you borrow
The more you borrow in loans, and the longer it takes to pay those loans back, the more interest you’ll pay – and the less money you’ll have to pay for other things. So it’s good to test out different loan amounts to see the impact that paying them back could have on you over time. Use the calculators on this page to get a good estimate of what different student loan amounts might cost you in terms of total dollars and what your monthly payments may be.
Simple Student Loan Calculator
This calculator will help you estimate what a loan of any amount will cost you over time. But remember, each year that you're in college can mean another loan – and a different interest rate, too. So do the math for one year and four years.
Detailed Student Loan Calculator
This link takes you to a calculator on FinAid.org, a site run by recognized FAFSA expert, Mark Kantrowitz. Please note: the information you provide on the FinAid site may be used for marketing purposes.
At-a-glance loan cost estimator
If you find you need to take out loans, it's important to know what those loans will cost you, and if you'll be able to afford them over time. The two charts below can help you estimate that.
One gives you a rough estimate of what your monthly payments would be on different loan amounts, assuming a 5.5% interest rate on a ten year loan. The other shows you what type of salary you'd need to earn to comfortably make those payments. For either calculator, place your cursor over any amount in the left column to see its corresponding number in the right column. (Note: the $28,000 amount is the most you can borrow in Federal student loans over 4 years in college. Any amounts over that are calculated at 9% interest, to represent the cost of borrowing from a private lender.)
Interest rate on first $28,000 = 5.5%
Interest rate on any amount over $28,000 = 9%
"Safe amount" is 10% of salary per year
10 Year payback
Interest rate on first $28,000 = 5.5%
Interest rate on any amount over $28,000 = 9%
"Safe amount" is 10% of salary per year
10 Year payback