New Website Explains Just How Much That College Diploma Will Cost

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Graduation day at Northwest Florida State College.

So you’ve got a list of colleges offering scholarships, grants and all kinds of other perks and you’re trying to figure out the best deal?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has set up a new website to help college-bound students and their parents estimate just how much that degree will cost — and how much debt will remain when classes are finished.

The site also gives you an estimate how long it will take to pay off that debt based on the average starting salary for U.S. college graduates ($617 per month for 10 years!).

The average student attending the University of Florida, for instance, could expect a roughly $10,500 bill for tuition, room and board, books and supplies and other expenses after grants and scholarships are applied to a total cost of $19,257.

University of South Florida students would face a similar bill.

The average University of Miami student receives almost $30,000 in grants and scholarships, but that still faces a bill of $27,216 for all expenses. The U’s net cost is slightly higher than the national average for private universities.

The net bill at most of Florida’s public universities is two-thirds the national average (due in part to more grant and scholarship money) — one reason why university heads are pushing to raise tuition to the national average to help plug budget holes.

The website uses U.S. Department of Education data.

You can compare and contrast college choices here.