CollegeLens

Borrowing calculator

Pressure-test your borrowing before you commit

See the full program cost, how interest grows while you're in school, and what different repayment strategies really mean month to month.

No linked plan

4-year undergraduate program · 4-year program

Estimated need: Enter your own number

Showing

$25,000

That is $6,250 per year across 4 years.

70% / 30%

Graduate borrowers can pair Direct Unsubsidized loans with Grad PLUS or private borrowing.

Repayment snapshot

Federal debt at 6.53% and private debt at 8.50% produce a blended picture that updates live below.

Defaulted to the undergraduate federal rate.

Suggested range: 5% to 13%. A cosigner can lower the effective rate.

Repayment term

Repayment mode

What you'll actually owe

Interest starts building before graduation

You borrow $25,000 across the program, but interest accrues while you're still in school.

FreshmanSophomoreJuniorGrad
Amount borrowedBalance including in-school interest

You borrowed

$25,000

Interest added

+$4,779

Balance at grad

$29,779

That's $4,779 in interest before you make your first payment.

Standard payoff path

Fixed payments from start to finish

Standard repayment keeps monthly payments predictable and typically minimizes total interest compared with stretching the loan longer.

My scenarios

Save and compare borrowing strategies

Save different terms and rate mixes, then load them back into the calculator or share a link for discussion.

Link the calculator from a dashboard plan to save, reload, and share scenarios.

Methodology. Standard repayment uses amortized monthly payments. Income-driven comparisons model IBR, PAYE, and RAP on the federal portion only, with private loans repaid on the standard term.

Graduate borrowers should treat Grad PLUS as a separate federal option at 9.08% APR. This calculator shows that context, but it does not model ICR or consolidation-specific behavior yet.