A complete graduate-school funding plan · Updated July 1, 2026 for the new federal loan rules
Graduate School Planner
Planning for graduate school is trickier than planning for a four-year college. Programs vary widely in length and type — a one-year master's, a three-year law degree, a four-year medical program, a multi-year PhD — so there's no single timeline or price tag. Some programs cost a great deal out of pocket, while others lean more heavily on scholarships, fellowships, assistantships, and stipends. And federal student loans now cap borrowing differently by program type. This tool helps you plan around all of it — and to plan ahead, because money you line up before you enroll is money you don't have to borrow later.
Updated for the federal student-loan rules effective July 1, 2026 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) — new borrowing caps by program type: $20,500 a year, $100,000 total for graduate programs and $50,000 a year, $200,000 total for professional programs, with Grad PLUS ended for new borrowers. Set the program type and Federal loan category below to match. Sources: Federal Student Aid — loan program updates and TICAS — 2026–27 loan amounts & terms.
Return & risk assumptions
The expected return is a simplified teaching assumption, not a prediction. Real returns vary and are never guaranteed. Money you'll need within a couple of years is usually held more conservatively than money that's still years away. This is an educational model, not investment or tax advice.
- Graduate school costs more than tuition. Living expenses, books, fees, and other costs are a real part of the bill — often larger than tuition itself.
- Saving before you enroll reduces future borrowing. Money set aside early has time to grow, and every dollar saved is a dollar you don't pay interest on later.
- Graduate education is usually funded from several sources. Scholarships, fellowships, assistantships, employer help, family, and income often combine to cover much of the cost.
- Loans generally fill what's left. Borrowing is meant to cover the remaining cost after savings and other funding — not the whole thing.
- Planning several years ahead gives you flexibility. The earlier you start, the more of the plan you can shape with savings instead of debt.
1. Choose your graduate program
Pick a program type at the top. It fills in a typical number of years and rough starting costs. Everything stays editable — the defaults are just a starting point.
2. Set costs, then subtract aid
Set how many years until you enroll and the education-inflation rate, then fine-tune each year's tuition, living, books, and other costs. Below that, enter the scholarships, fellowships, assistantships or stipends, and employer contributions you expect each year. These are subtracted from the cost to give your net cost.
3. Add other contributions
Enter what your family, income while enrolled, or other sources will contribute each year. These come off the net cost to give the amount you need to finance.
4. Enter your savings
Add what you've saved so far, an expected return, and how much you'll save each month before enrolling. Use "Save for the full cost" to see the monthly amount that would cover the whole amount to finance from savings.
5. Estimate loans
The plan shows what's left to borrow after contributions and savings. Split it between federal and private loans, set the rate, fee, and term, and see the monthly payment and total cost.
6. Read the charts
The cost chart breaks each year into its parts. The coverage bars and stacked chart show how each year's gross cost gets paid for — aid, contributions, savings, then loans. The savings and loan detail tabs add growth and repayment charts.
7. Explore different strategies
Try saving more per month, starting earlier, adding an assistantship, or shifting borrowing between federal and private loans. Watch the amount to finance, the gap, and the total cost of borrowing respond.
What graduate school really costs
The cost of attendance is more than tuition. It includes fees, housing and food (living expenses), books and supplies, and other costs like transportation and health insurance. For many programs the living expenses over several years rival or exceed tuition. Because you'll pay these bills in future years, this planner grows today's costs by an education-inflation rate — today's cost times (1 + inflation) raised to the number of years until each bill is due.
Building education savings
Saving before you enroll is the cheapest way to pay for school, because saved money can grow and never charges you interest. The earlier you start, the more months you spread contributions across and the longer each dollar compounds. A modest monthly amount started a few years out can cover a surprising share of the cost — and it directly reduces what you borrow.
Assistantships and fellowships
An assistantship is paid work — teaching or research — often attached to a tuition waiver and a living stipend. A fellowship is an award that supports your study, sometimes with no work required. Both are common in funded master's and especially PhD programs, where a full package can cover tuition and much of living costs. Because they're annual, this tool lets you enter what you expect each year.
Employer tuition assistance
Employer tuition assistance is money your employer pays toward your education, often up to an annual limit and sometimes requiring you to stay for a period afterward. It's especially common for part-time MBA and professional students. Enter the yearly amount you expect to receive.
Scholarships and grants
Scholarships and grants are money you don't repay, awarded for merit, need, or field of study. Graduate scholarships are often smaller and less common than undergraduate ones, so it's worth confirming amounts before counting on them. In this planner they're applied to cost before any borrowing.
Borrowing for graduate school
Loans are meant to fill what's left after savings and funding. A federal student loan and a private student loan both charge interest — the yearly cost of borrowing — and may charge an origination fee, a percentage taken up front. The longer the repayment term, the lower the monthly payment but the more total interest you pay. This tool estimates the cost of whatever amounts you enter; it doesn't decide how much you're eligible to borrow.
Planning for long programs like PhDs
Long programs change the math. A five- or six-year PhD has more years of living costs, but is also more likely to be funded by assistantships and fellowships. Front-loaded costs — those in the earliest years — are the most expensive to borrow for, because that debt accrues interest the longest. Planning ahead lets funding and savings carry the early years so borrowing, if any, stays small.
Balancing savings and borrowing
Every plan sits somewhere between saving everything up front and borrowing everything later. Saving more lowers lifetime cost but takes discipline and time; borrowing is flexible but adds interest. A sensible middle path is to save what you comfortably can, capture every source of funding you qualify for, and borrow only the remainder — the cheapest money first.
Key takeaway
Graduate school is funded from many sources, and the ones you line up before you enroll — savings, scholarships, fellowships, assistantships — shrink the ones you pay interest on later. Plan early, add up all your funding, and let loans cover only what's left. This is an educational model, not financial advice.
These figures reflect your current plan. To change them, edit your savings in the Plan tab.
| From now | Phase | Contributed | Gains | Withdrawn | Ending balance |
|---|
- Save before the expense arrives. The goal is money ready by the time each year's bill is due.
- Costs tend to rise. A year that costs less today will likely cost more by the time you enroll.
- Growth does part of the work. The more the account earns, the less you contribute yourself.
- Starting earlier lowers the monthly amount. More months and more compounding both help.
- Saving during school still helps. Later-year bills are still ahead of you when the program begins.
How the future cost is calculated
Today's cost is grown by the education-inflation rate for every year until the bill is due — today's cost times (1 + inflation) raised to the number of years away. At 3%, a cost four years out is multiplied by about 1.13.
Why starting earlier lowers the monthly amount
The earlier you begin, the more months you spread saving across and the longer each dollar grows. Both pull the required monthly amount down. Time is the most powerful lever here.
Why investment growth helps — but is uncertain
Investment gains are growth on top of what you put in. They do real work, but growth isn't promised — the return here is a simplified assumption, not a guarantee. Money you'll need within a year or two is usually held more conservatively.
Saving while enrolled
The later years of a program are still ahead of you when it begins, so money saved during the early years still helps pay for the later ones. Continuing to contribute usually lowers what you borrow.
Key takeaway
Saving is a race between rising costs and investment growth. Starting early gives growth more time to win and lowers the monthly amount. This is an educational model, not investment or tax advice.
These figures reflect the amounts you chose to borrow. To change them, edit your loans in the Plan tab.
| Loan | Borrowed | Fee | Rate | Term | Monthly | Total interest | Total repayment |
|---|
- Borrow only what's left. Loans are meant to cover the remaining cost after savings and funding.
- Interest is the price of borrowing. A higher rate means a higher total cost, even for the same amount.
- Origination fees come off the top. A fee is charged up front, so you owe on more than you receive.
- A longer term lowers the payment but raises the cost. More months means more interest overall.
- Federal and private loans differ. They often carry different rates, fees, and protections — compare before choosing.
What interest really costs
Interest is the yearly cost of borrowing, charged on the balance you still owe. Because a loan is paid down over time, early payments are mostly interest and later payments are mostly principal. Over a full term, interest can add a large fraction on top of what you borrowed.
Origination fees
An origination fee is a percentage taken when the loan is made. If you borrow $20,000 with a 1% fee, $200 comes off the top — so you effectively pay for money you don't fully receive. Federal loans often charge a small fee; many private loans charge none.
How the term changes the math
The repayment term is how long you take to pay the loan back. Stretching it lowers the monthly payment but adds months of interest, so the lifetime cost usually rises. A shorter term costs more each month but less overall.
Federal versus private
Federal and private student loans can carry very different rates and fees, and federal loans often include repayment protections private loans lack. This tool doesn't model those rules — it simply prices the amounts you enter — so compare real offers before deciding how to split your borrowing.
Why borrowing the cheapest money first matters
When you do borrow, filling the gap with the lowest-rate, lowest-fee source first minimizes lifetime cost. Saving and funding reduce the amount that has to be borrowed at all, which is the surest way to cut the interest bill.
Key takeaway
Borrow only what savings and funding leave behind, take the cheapest money first, and remember that a lower monthly payment often means a higher total cost. This is an educational model, not financial advice.