How much can we afford to pay for college?

Before your child falls in love with a college, decide what your family can contribute each year. Include the savings you intend to use, an amount that fits your household income, and any borrowing you are prepared to repay.

That conversation can feel uncomfortable. It is easier to have while the college list is still taking shape than after an acceptance arrives from a school that leaves a large funding gap.

Start with a family budget even before you know each college's final price. You can compare it with cost estimates now and financial aid offers later.

Start with money you can commit

Write down the college savings available for this child. If one account supports several children, decide how much belongs in this student's plan before using the whole balance in an affordability calculation.

Next, look at your monthly household spending. How much could you send to college consistently while still paying your regular bills and keeping money available for unexpected expenses? Test that number against actual bank statements. A contribution that requires every month to go perfectly deserves another look.

Discuss retirement contributions and other obligations at the same time. If paying for a particular college would require a change to those plans, write down the change and its consequences before making a commitment. A retirement-account withdrawal, for example, needs its own tax and financial review; it should not be treated as ordinary cash in the budget.

Include the student's contribution, too, if there is one. Distinguish money already saved from wages the student hopes to earn. Leave an unawarded scholarship out of the committed-funds column.

Estimate what each college would cost your family

Use the net price calculator on each college's website. These tools estimate a price after grants and scholarships using information about the student and family. They are estimates, not financial aid offers. The Department of Education's Net Price Calculator Center explains the purpose of the calculators and helps families find them.

Save each result with the date and the assumptions you entered. If your finances include a business, a recent divorce, or a significant income change, ask the aid office how well its calculator handles that situation.

Make sure your estimate includes more than tuition. A student living on campus needs a housing and food budget. A commuter still has transportation and daily living costs. Check which items the school bills directly and which expenses your family will pay separately. The CFPB's financial path to graduation tool can help organize the calculation.

Put the funding gap on paper

Consider a fictional family whose estimated annual college cost after grants and scholarships is $28,000. They have $24,000 set aside for this child and plan to use it evenly over four years. They can also contribute $800 a month from income throughout the year.

If the student qualifies for and accepts a $5,500 federal Direct Loan, the remaining gap is $6,900 before accounting for the loan fee.

The standard combined subsidized and unsubsidized Direct Loan limit for a dependent undergraduate is $5,500 in the first year, $6,500 in the second, and $7,500 in the third year and beyond. Different limits apply to independent students and certain dependent students. Actual eligibility can be lower, including under enrollment-based reductions. Confirm the student's amount with the aid office. Federal Student Aid lists the standard undergraduate limits.

Before adding a parent or private loan, calculate the payment using that loan's actual terms. Decide who will make the payments and whether they fit that person's budget.

Plan through graduation

At a flat $28,000 a year, four years would cost this example family $112,000 after gift aid. Their savings and planned income contributions would provide $62,400. The standard four-year sequence of dependent undergraduate Direct Loan limits totals $27,000, leaving $22,600 before loan fees and borrowing costs.

Those figures assume the student qualifies for the listed loans and that the net college cost and family contributions stay the same.

Create a higher-cost version of the budget. If the net price rose 3% annually in this hypothetical example, the four-year cost would be about $117,142. That is roughly $5,142 more than the flat-price estimate. The 3% figure is a planning assumption, not a prediction of college price increases.

Then ask what would happen if a scholarship ended or graduation took an extra semester. If another child will attend college during the same years, put both budgets on one timeline. Do not assign the same monthly contribution to each child unless the household can actually provide both amounts.

Give Massachusetts options a fair comparison

Massachusetts families should include public options when building a college list. MassEducate and MassReconnect provide tuition and fee coverage at public community colleges for eligible students. Eligibility and application requirements still apply, and tuition coverage does not mean every living expense is covered. Some students qualify for additional allowances. The Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance explains the programs.

For a student considering community college followed by a bachelor's degree, ask both schools which credits will transfer into the intended major and how long the remaining degree should take. Estimate the combined cost of both stages, including any change in housing or aid.

Compare the resulting estimates with private-college offers as well. Use the estimated cost after aid, along with the program and your child's needs, to decide which schools to keep on the list.

Agree on a borrowing limit before choosing a school

Write student borrowing and parent borrowing on separate lines. Include existing debts when considering the parent's future payment. If a private loan needs a cosigner, that person takes on a repayment obligation too. The CFPB explains what cosigning means.

Get a repayment estimate before deciding that a gap is manageable. Ask when payments begin, whether the rate can change, and what the projected balance will be when repayment starts. Compare the payment with a realistic budget for the person who will owe it.

Once you have a family contribution and borrowing limit, share them with your child. You can keep exploring colleges together while being clear about the price an eventual offer would need to reach.

Our college funding planning service for Massachusetts families can help you work through these costs alongside your household budget. Bring your savings figures, a monthly contribution estimate, and the colleges your child is considering.

Sources checked October 14, 2026. Rules and school policies can change. Confirm requirements with the relevant financial aid office.