Calculate SimplyHow to use
Start with the worked example to understand the inputs, then replace every relevant value with your own figures. Use one currency and consistent units throughout. Add or remove rows where offered; irrelevant conditional fields are disabled and excluded. Select Calculate after editing. Review negative values and any “not determined” result rather than assuming every scenario must be profitable. Download a text summary or print the page for your records.
Formula and assumptions
Compare an entered graduate salary with the alternative of working without the degree. Education investment includes tuition and extra living costs after grants, forgone after-tax earnings during study, and modeled loan interest. Loan principal is not added again to tuition. Ten- and twenty-year benefits begin after graduation; the alternative salary has already grown during study. Loan payments use fixed monthly amortization, not the daily-interest rules or income-driven plans of a specific lender. Salaries, employment and growth are assumptions, not predictions or major-specific salary data.
monthly payment = P × r / (1 − (1+r)^−n); ROI = (cumulative after-tax earnings premium − education investment) / education investment × 100
Worked example
Example only: replace rates with your own figures.
Inputs
- Years of study: 4
- Annual tuition and fees: 15000
- Annual extra living costs: 3000
- Total grants and scholarships: 10000
- Annual starting graduate salary: 60000
- Annual salary without degree: 30000
- Annual graduate salary growth: 3 %
- Annual alternative salary growth: 2 %
- Estimated effective tax rate: 20 %
- Loan principal at repayment start: 30000
- Annual loan interest rate: 6 %
- Loan repayment years: 10
- 10-year net benefit: 94924.3 USD
- 10-year ROI: 55.5483 %
- 20-year net benefit: 487686 USD
- 20-year ROI: 285.387 %
- Education investment: 170886 USD
- Monthly loan payment: 333.062 USD
- Total modeled loan interest: 9967.38 USD
- Payback after graduation: 6.86522 years
Frequently asked questions
Are the example rates current market prices?
No. Example inputs demonstrate arithmetic, not live prices, tax rules, salary surveys or sponsor benchmarks. Enter a dated quote, bill, manufacturer specification or verified fee schedule that applies to your situation. Compare a conservative and an optimistic scenario separately.
Why is a result not determined?
Some calculations have no meaningful value when a denominator is zero, savings are non-positive, a target cannot be reached or your data do not bracket an intersection. The tool leaves that result undetermined instead of displaying infinity or inventing a recommendation. Check the method and your inputs.
Sources
Sources explain the underlying concepts, not an endorsement of this website or its results. Method review: 20 October 2026.