Explore Costs
Comparative costs of education
Take a peek at what colleges and universities in Colorado are currently charging for tuition, fees, room and board. Would you like to look into occupational or technical training rather than a two- or four-year college? Get to know the costs and opportunities of these as well.
Tuition and fees are direct costs of attending school and usually must be paid (or payment arrangements made) before you begin the first day of classes. If you will live in a residence hall, you will also have to pay college room and board expenses up front. Other items, such as personal expenses, transportation and in some cases, housing, are indirect costs for which you can budget over the academic year. You should also consider planned expenditures that are not included in a COA such as car payments and spring-break trips.
When you look at a colleges COA, remember that it's possible that your actual expenditures may be less than the school's estimated COA. For example, you may be able to save on books by buying used books instead of new, or share the cost of an apartment with a friend.
Financial Aid Award Estimator
The Financial Aid Award Estimator (FAAE) is a tool you can use to help you determine if you are a dependent or an independent student, how much it costs to attend a particular college, as well as give you an estimate of what types of financial aid you may be eligible to receive.
While financial aid is too complex to determine actual financial aid awards, the FAAE gives good estimates by using sophisticated formulas customized for the college you specify. It will be up to the college at which you enroll to determine your actual financial aid award package.
SLOPE™ Calculator
What is the maximum amount I should borrow in student loans? Experts agree that your future student loan payments should not exceed 8% of your expected annual income, or if you are married, 8% of your household income.
Once you have looked at the Financial Aid Award Estimator you can take the financial aid estimate information from that to use in the SLOPE Calculator.
The SLOPE Calculator is a tool designed to help you decide how much you can afford to borrow based on how much you may earn from your intended career. SLOPE is fun! Your results are displayed on a graph that illustrates your SLOPE (student loan debt as a percent of your projected earnings). As your income increases, student loans represent a lower and lower percentage of your yearly income, until you pay off your loans and the percent is zero. The chart also shows you a “SAFE” SLOPE (8%). The closer YOUR SLOPE is to the SAFE SLOPE, the easier it will be for you to make your monthly student loan payments.