College is the goal that sneaks up on people. A kid is born and suddenly you're 18 years away from a bill that could be $200,000 or more, depending on where they go.
The tricky part isn't the math. It's the assumptions. How much will tuition cost in 15 years? How much are the parents covering vs. scholarships or loans? What kind of school are we planning for?
How I think about it
I don't try to predict the exact cost of a specific school 18 years from now. I work with a reasonable annual cost in today's dollars and let education inflation do the rest. Education costs have historically grown at 4-5% per year, faster than general inflation. The calculator accounts for that.
The other conversation worth having early: what percentage are you funding? Some parents want to cover 100%. Some want to split it. Some are covering tuition but not living expenses. Getting that number locked in early changes the target dramatically and helps the client feel like it's manageable.
The inputs
The calculator walks through it:
Which child — select from the children in the client's profile
Education start age — when they start (typically 18)
Education end age — when they finish (typically 22 for a 4-year degree)
Current annual cost — tuition, room and board, fees in today's dollars
Funding percentage — how much the parents are covering
Education inflation rate — how fast costs are growing
Investment return — expected return on the money they're setting aside
The calculator inflates the annual cost over each year of school, applies the funding percentage, and works backward to tell you how much they need saved by the time the kid starts.
What you get out
Same structure as retirement:
Target needed — what they need saved by the education start date (today's or future dollars)
Monthly savings needed — how much to put away each month to get there
Fully funded today — the lump sum that would close the gap right now
If they have multiple kids, each one gets their own goal with its own timeline and target. Assign the right accounts (529s, custodial accounts, whatever they're using) and the progress bars show where they stand.