About DegreeCalc

DegreeCalc provides free, accurate, and private college education calculators to help students, parents, and families make smarter financial decisions about higher education.

Our Mission

College is one of the biggest financial decisions a person makes. Yet many students begin their education journey without fully understanding the costs, loan implications, or return on investment. DegreeCalc exists to change that by providing clear, easy-to-use tools that make education finance transparent.

What We Offer

• College Cost Calculator — Estimate total college expenses including tuition, room & board, books, and fees.
• Student Loan Calculator — Calculate monthly payments and compare loan term options.
• Loan Repayment Calculator — Plan accelerated payoff strategies to save thousands.
• Loan Forgiveness Calculator — Estimate eligibility and savings under PSLF and IDR forgiveness programs.
• College Savings Calculator — Project 529 plan growth and see how early saving reduces future borrowing.
• EFC Calculator — Estimate your Expected Family Contribution for federal financial aid.
• Degree ROI Calculator — Measure whether your degree investment pays off.
• Graduate School ROI — Compare the cost of a graduate degree against lifetime earnings gains.
• GPA Calculator — Track your semester and cumulative grade point average.
• Credit Calculator — Convert transfer credits between institutions and see how they apply.
• Major Comparison — Compare majors side-by-side on salary, employment, and growth outlook.
• College Comparison — Compare colleges on cost, graduation rate, and student outcomes.
• Scholarship Calculator — Track awards and identify funding gaps.
• Student Budget — Build a realistic monthly budget for your college years.
• Study Abroad Cost Calculator — Compare international study costs with home campus.
• Textbook Cost Calculator — Compare textbook buying options to save money.
• Is It Worth It? — Quick analysis on whether a specific degree is worth the investment.

Our Principles

Our Methodology

Every calculator is grounded in primary-source data. We pull tuition and institutional cost figures from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), wage and employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, federal student loan rates and limits from the U.S. Department of Education (ED.gov), and financial aid methodology from the FAFSA Student Aid Index (SAI) framework. Where our calculators project outcomes, we explain the formulas and assumptions on each calculator page and on the Methodology page.

When the underlying data updates — annual NCES releases, revised federal loan rates, Pell Grant adjustments, FAFSA changes — we re-validate and update the hardcoded values across the Site.

The Team Behind DegreeCalc

DegreeCalc is maintained by a small team of software engineers and research writers with backgrounds in fintech, education policy, and personal finance. We are not a school, a lender, or a financial aid office. What we do is build accurate, source-backed calculators and explain the underlying education-finance concepts in plain English.

Editorial oversight: All calculator formulas and long-form articles are reviewed against NCES, ED.gov, BLS, and state higher-education agency publications before release. Every academic year — and whenever the Department of Education publishes revised loan terms or FAFSA rules — we re-validate the hardcoded cost tables, interest rates, and aid limits used across the Site.

Corrections workflow: Errors happen; when a reader flags one, we investigate within 48 hours, publish the correction, and update the "Last reviewed" date at the top of the affected page. Material corrections are also noted on our Editorial Guidelines page so the correction history is publicly discoverable.

Independence: DegreeCalc is independently owned. We do not accept sponsored placements disguised as editorial, we do not run affiliate comparisons where placement is paid for, and we do not sell leads. Our revenue comes from contextual display advertising (see Privacy Policy for disclosure details), which does not influence the content, ordering, or coverage of the calculators or articles you see.

Our Commitment to Privacy

DegreeCalc calculators run entirely in your browser. Family income, loan balances, GPA entries, and similar inputs are computed locally in JavaScript and never leave your device. We cannot access them, we do not store them, and there is no "account" that might later be breached. The only data our servers see is the standard web-request metadata any site receives — IP address, user agent, and the page you requested. See our Privacy Policy for full disclosure.

What We Are Not

DegreeCalc is not a lender, loan servicer, school, financial aid office, enrollment counselor, or substitute for a licensed adviser. Every calculator produces an estimate, not a determination. Complex situations — appealing a financial aid award, applying for forgiveness, choosing between schools or majors, or evaluating a private loan against a federal one — warrant a qualified professional or your school's financial aid office.

Disclaimer

DegreeCalc calculators are for informational and educational purposes only. They do not constitute financial advice. Results are estimates based on the information you provide. Always consult with a financial advisor or your school's financial aid office for personalized guidance.

Contact

Questions, feedback, correction requests, and media inquiries: [email protected].