College Planning · 5 guides · 5 tools
Plan the cost, the time and the payoff before you enroll.
What college costs in 2026, how to pay for it, what employers cover and how to finish faster with credit you already have.
- jobs with BLS pay data
- 49
- In the ROI Calculator, from Bureau of Labor Statistics wage files
Guides by question
What do you need to know?
What will it cost?
The sticker price, the net price, and the order to pay it in.
- College Tuition in 2026: What It Actually Costs Average 2025-26 tuition runs from $4,150 at community colleges to $45,000 at private colleges. Most full-time students get grants that cut the bill. 7 min read · Updated Ends in the aid check
- How to Pay for College in 2026-27: Every Source, in Order Pay for college in this order: grants (Pell up to $7,395 for 2026-27), scholarships and employer aid, federal loans, then private. Amounts and how to apply. 7 min read · Updated Ends in the aid check
Will my employer pay?
How tuition benefits work and what stays tax-free.
Can I finish faster?
Going back after a break, credit for what you already know, and exams that count.
- Finish your degree: where to go back after stopping out 43.1 million Americans have some college and no degree, and only 28% of those who stopped out would return to the same school. How to pick where to finish. 7 min read · Updated Ends in the Time-to-Degree Calculator
- Prior learning assessment: CLEP, DSST and military credit Prior learning assessment turns exams, training and work into college credit. In 2026 a CLEP exam costs $97 and most passing scores earn 3 credits. 8 min read · Updated Ends in the Time-to-Degree Calculator
Tools for this topic
- Is it worth it? ROI Calculator Pick a job, see its median pay and outlook, and compare ten years of earnings with and without the degree. Run my ROI
- Will my job pay? Employer Tuition Checker Check what your employer’s tuition benefit could cover each year. Check my employer
- How long will it take? Time-to-Degree Calculator How long your degree takes with the credits you have and the load you can carry. Estimate my timeline
- Have your tax return? SAI Calculator Type the numbers from your tax return for an exact Student Aid Index. Get my exact SAI
Where these figures come from
Every number links to the page it came from.
We quote the government source directly and note the date we last read it. A top amount is labelled as a top amount, never as what you’ll get.
- Federal Student Aid (ed.gov) Pell amounts and loan limits
- Internal Revenue Service Employer educational assistance (§127)
- Bureau of Labor Statistics Median pay and job outlook
Find out what’s free before you borrow.
Seven questions. Your result shows first, with every source.