College Payoff Comparator

Compare if going to college is financially better than working right away.

This project consists of an analysis tool built for students analyzing return on investment (ROI) for higher education. The tool provides a clear visualization of the initial cost of college and estimates how long that investment takes to pay off based on expected earnings and expenses (such as loans).

Existing tools primarily focus on loan payments and general salary but lack a personalized, interactive, and unified approach to ROI analysis. This tool fills that gap by providing a unified, interactive and customizable visualization of students' financial future. It analyzes income trajectories and expenses over time to provide a personalized ROI analysis.

For more details on our methodology and analysis, please refer to our process book.

This tool is designed to provide a financial perspective and should be used as one of many tools in your decision-making process. Consider your personal goals, career aspirations, and other non-financial factors when making your decision.

Here is a brief explanation of the key formulas:

• College Earnings: This is calculated as yearsToCompare > 4 ? salary * (yearsToCompare - 4) - totalCost : 0 - totalCost. It represents the earnings after college, considering the years spent in college (assumed to be 4 years) and subtracting the total cost.
• No College Earnings: This is calculated as noCollegeSalary * yearsToCompare. It represents the earnings if the individual did not attend college, based on the no college salary and the specified number of years.
• Difference in Earnings: This is calculated as Math.abs(collegeEarnings - noCollegeEarnings). It represents the absolute difference between the earnings after attending college and the earnings without attending college.
• College Total Cost: This is calculated as tuition + livingExpenses + totalLoanRepayment. It represents the total cost of attending college, including tuition, living expenses, and loan repayment.
• College Total Loan Repayment: This is calculated as loan * (1 + (interestRate / 100) * yearsToCompare). It represents the total amount to be repaid on the loan, including interest, over the specified number of years.
• Breakpoint: The breakpoint is the value at which the financial outcomes of attending college and not attending college are equal. It is found by iterating over possible values and minimizing the difference between college earnings and no college earnings.

Data sources (2023): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, WPI Institutional Research - First Destination Survey Dashboard