College fees rise faster than almost any other cost. A course that is ₹3 lakh a year today will cost far more by the time your child gets there.
This works out what it will really cost. Then it tells you what to invest each month.
Your child
Usually 18 for a degree, 22 for a master’s.
Three or four for most degrees.
The course
What this course costs a student starting today.
Fee data from private colleges suggests 10% to 12%. The government’s own index is much lower. Pick what you believe.
You
Only money set aside for education.
Before charges and tax. Nobody can promise this.
Leave at zero if you have not started.
Invest every month
₹12,839
For 13 years, until the course starts.
Why this number is not like the others
Most of these tools treat the cost as one bill, due the day the course starts.
That is not how fees are paid. A four year degree is four bills, a year apart.
It matters both ways. Each later year costs more. But the money for it gets a year longer to grow.
Working it out year by year is closer to the truth. It also gives a slightly smaller monthly figure. So this will not match every tool you find.
The number to argue with
The rate at which fees rise decides the whole answer. It is also hotly argued over.
You will see 10% to 12% quoted nearly everywhere. Much of that comes from firms that sell child plans. They draw on fees at private colleges.
The state's own price index for fees has been running far below that.
Both can be true. That index covers all schooling, down to cheap state places. Fees at the colleges you have in mind really do rise faster.
So the rate is yours to choose. Move it and watch the monthly figure swing. That swing shows how little anyone really knows.
A study loan against your retirement covers what happens when you borrow the gap. Goal amounts and rising prices covers the same trap for other goals.
This calculator is for learning. It is not advice for your own case. No college, fund or firm is named or backed here. Fee rises, growth and the loan rate are numbers you choose, or that are assumed here. None is a forecast, and real markets do not move in straight lines. The loan figure assumes 11% over 10 years. It ignores the interest that builds while the course runs, so a real loan costs more. It also ignores tax, and the cost of living away from home. For advice on your own money, speak to a SEBI-registered investment adviser.