Settings
App info and controls
Privacy+
Calculations happen in your browser and don't require an account. When you calculate a result, the specific numbers shown are automatically sent to our AI provider to generate the plain-language summary. If you use the 'Ask a question' feature, whatever you type is also sent for that response. None of this is stored by us, shared with anyone else, or used to train any AI model.
Calculator entries may be saved in this browser so you can come back later on the same device and update them.
College Decision Center submissions and forms, if added later, should not include private financial aid documents, student IDs, account numbers, or other sensitive records.
The site is not designed to sell personal data. Printable report downloads are free and do not require an email address.
Use Clear saved data any time to remove saved calculator information and local preferences from this browser.
Tools+
Choose one of the three college engines, select a level, enter the numbers you know, and click Calculate.
Quick Answer keeps inputs short. Detailed Analysis and Comprehensive Plan reveal more assumptions for users who want a fuller estimate.
Calculation details
Is This College Worth the Cost? estimates total net cost, borrowing, repayment, interest, expected salary, debt-to-income ratio, break-even timing, risk flags, risk flags, and what could change the result.
Public vs Private compares two schools over 20 years using net cost, non-tuition costs, borrowing, repayment, expected earnings, and estimated net wealth.
Student Loan by Major estimates whether a planned debt amount fits the expected starting salary from the major.
The borrowing rules are shown directly: green debt is below 60% of starting salary, yellow is 60% up to 90%, orange is 90% up to 125%, and red is 125% or higher.
Results are estimates. They depend on the inputs, assumptions, and missing details shown in the result.
The Download Report button creates a printable report from the last calculated engine result.
Complete Printable Report+
The calculator results are free to view on this site.
The report is a free convenience export for users who want to save, print, or share their college decision calculation. It is an educational report based on the user's entries, not a professional financial plan.
The printable report includes the selected calculator, information entered by the user, main college answer, key numbers, cost and loan assumptions, risk flags, strengths, weak spots, possible next steps, scenarios when available, assumptions used, and educational disclaimer.
Your results are free. Report downloads are free and only for saving, printing, or sharing your report.
Click Calculate first so the report matches the most recent result shown on the page.
Ads are not included in the printable report.
Disclaimer+
College Decision Center is an educational college decision calculator and decision-support tool. It does not provide financial, legal, tax, admissions, student loan, educational, or professional advice.
Results are estimates based on the information entered and assumptions shown. College outcomes depend on costs, aid, borrowing, repayment terms, graduation, employment, earnings, and personal circumstances.
Read full disclaimerCommon Questions+
Is this financial advice?+
No. College Decision Center is an educational decision-support tool. It can help organize assumptions, estimates, and possible next steps, but it does not provide financial, legal, tax, admissions, student loan, educational, or professional advice.
Do I need an account?+
Calculations happen in your browser and don't require an account. When you calculate a result, the specific numbers shown are automatically sent to our AI provider to generate the plain-language summary. If you use the 'Ask a question' feature, whatever you type is also sent for that response. None of this is stored by us, shared with anyone else, or used to train any AI model.
Where should I get college cost numbers?+
The school's financial aid offer, net price calculator, cost of attendance page, and any loan terms being considered are the source numbers for this calculator. The calculator is only as useful as the numbers entered.
Why do the results show assumptions?+
College decisions depend heavily on assumptions like net price, years attending, borrowing, interest rate, major, expected salary, salary growth, and graduation likelihood. Showing assumptions makes the result easier to question and update.
Can I export my result?+
Yes. After calculating an engine result, use Download Report to export a printable College Decision Report with inputs, key numbers, scenarios, possible next steps, assumptions, and the educational disclaimer. Your results are free; report downloads are free and only for saving, printing, or sharing your report.
Privacy
Privacy Policy
Effective July 2, 2026
You can use every calculator on College Decision Center without creating an account, giving an email address, connecting a financial account, or logging in.
Calculations happen in your browser and don't require an account. When you calculate a result, the specific numbers shown are automatically sent to our AI provider to generate the plain-language summary. If you use the 'Ask a question' feature, whatever you type is also sent for that response. None of this is stored by us, shared with anyone else, or used to train any AI model.
Calculator entries may be saved in your browser's local storage so you can return to the same device and pick up your comparison later.
Clearing it is straightforward: use the Settings panel, or your browser's own storage controls.
Personal data is not for sale here. The site may eventually add advertising or analytics to help cover costs. If that happens, this page gets updated first with specifics.
Printable reports are free and do not require an email. The optional email-copy feature is just a convenience. Using it does not create an account or start a subscription.
What we never send to any AI service, regardless of which calculator or detail level you use: your specific location after graduation, any home purchase goal, family financial support details, co-signer information, and your personal retirement or emergency savings goals. These stay on your device and are never included in any AI-generated explanation, no matter which tool or tier you're using.
Some budget details, such as rent, car payment, and other personal debts, are combined into a single total before being used to generate an explanation. The AI knows that total affects your result, but never the individual amounts or what makes it up.
Everything else used to generate an AI explanation is limited to the core numbers already shown on your results page — your entered costs, borrowing, salary, and the calculated results themselves.
These explanation requests are not tied to an account, because this site does not have accounts, and they are not used here to identify you. If the AI service is unavailable or takes too long, the page falls back to the calculator-generated explanation based on the same verified numbers.
Since this tool touches school costs, financial aid, and loan decisions, treat entries the way you would any planning worksheet: nothing you would not want stored locally.
This site may show ads served by Google AdSense. Google and its advertising partners may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this or other websites. For U.S. visitors and undetermined locations, optional advertising cookies may load unless you opt out. Visitors from stricter opt-in regions are asked before optional advertising cookies load. Browser Global Privacy Control signals are treated as an opt-out wherever they are detected. You can also opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings.
Questions: hello@answerworth.com