Independent public-interest economics project serving Westchester County
College ROI Lab

Understanding college cost and return

Model cost, aid, debt, and starting salary without pretending a human education can be reduced to one return percentage. Educational estimates only.

Build a college scenario

Annual sticker cost
$
Annual grants / aid
$
Years enrolled
Share financed with loans
45%
Expected starting salary
$
Annual salary growth assumption
3%

Opportunity cost

What would you do, earn, or learn if you chose the next-best alternative?

Uncertainty

Starting salaries are estimates. Major, geography, internships, economic cycles, and individual choices matter.

Non-financial return

Education can create knowledge, networks, independence, and options that are hard to convert into one dollar figure.