Planning your after-college life can be scary—especially financially. Now, there’s a calculator designed to help you make that decision based on your statistical financial security.
While that may sound confusing, the idea behind it is simple. The calculator takes into account three main factors: what college you go to, your major, and where you plan to live after college. Weintraub & Selth, a bankruptcy law firm, designed the calculator to help recent graduates plan their finances according to these factors. It looks at the average income of grads from your major, average student loan and tuition costs from your school, and average cost of living in the city where you plan to live. Then it tells you whether you can afford your new post-college life.
Warning: You’re probably not going to get an encouraging answer. The calculator is designed to give college grads a serious reality check when it comes to finances, and it tends to be pessimistic with the numbers. Remember that there are a lot of drawbacks to the calculator—It doesn’t include a lot of majors, and some of the variables are hard to edit. Still, it’s good to keep money after graduation in the back of your mind. Until then, relax and enjoy college while it lasts!