Free Tool · Student Finance

Free Student Loan Estimator for Schools

Enter the student's full cost of attendance and all available funding sources — grants, scholarships, family contribution, and work-study — to calculate an estimated loan amount needed, loan type priority guidance, and monthly repayment projections. Download a PDF or CSV summary.

Runs entirely in your browser · No login · No data uploaded · Estimates only — not a formal loan offer

Student & Programme

Student Name Student ID (optional) Institution

Currency

Programme Duration

Annual Education Costs

Tuition & Fees

Housing & Food

Books & Supplies

Transport

Other Annual Expenses

Annual Cost of Attendance: —

Annual Funding Sources

Federal / Government Grant

Institutional Grant / Bursary

State / Regional Grant

Private Scholarship

Family Contribution (EFC)

Student Savings

Work-Study / Part-time Income (annual)

Loan Settings

Est. Annual Interest Rate (%)

Expected Starting Salary (optional)

Enter education costs and funding sources on the left, then click
Calculate Loan Estimate to see your borrowing projection.

#	Loan Type	Best For	Key Feature
1	Government Subsidised	Need-based borrowers	Interest does not accrue while enrolled in study — apply first
2	Government Unsubsidised	All eligible students	Interest accrues from disbursement; lower rate than private options
3	Parent / Sponsor / PLUS	Remaining gap after federal limits	Parents borrow on student's behalf; credit check usually required
4	Private / Commercial	Last resort — all other options exhausted	Market rate varies by lender; compare carefully before committing

How to Use the Student Loan Estimator in 3 Steps

Follow these steps to get results in under a minute

Enter annual education costs

Fill in all components of the student's annual cost of attendance — tuition and fees, housing and food, books and supplies, transport, and any other expenses — to calculate the total CoA.

Enter all funding sources

Add every source of annual funding the student has available — government grants, institutional grants, state grants, private scholarships, family contribution, student savings, and work-study income.

Calculate and review the estimate

Click Calculate Loan Estimate to see the annual loan gap, total borrowing over the programme, a funding breakdown bar, loan type priority guidance, and repayment projections for 3 different terms. Download as PDF or CSV.

Common Questions

Free Student Loan Estimator — FAQ

What does a student loan estimator do?

A student loan estimator calculates the gap between a student's total annual cost of attendance and their available non-loan funding — grants, scholarships, family contribution, savings, and work-study income. The gap is the estimated amount that would need to be funded through borrowing. It also shows repayment projections and loan type priority guidance.

What is included in the Cost of Attendance?

The Cost of Attendance (CoA) is the total estimated cost of attending an institution for one academic year. It typically includes tuition and fees, housing and food (on or off campus), books and supplies, transportation, and personal/miscellaneous expenses. Enter each component separately to build the most accurate CoA figure.

What order should I consider different loan types?

Always prioritise government subsidised loans first — interest does not accrue while you are enrolled, making them the most cost-effective. Then government unsubsidised loans, which carry a lower interest rate than private options. Parent or PLUS loans come next if the gap exceeds government annual limits. Private or commercial loans should be a last resort, as rates and terms vary widely and are often less favourable.

How are the repayment projections calculated?

Repayment projections use the standard loan payment formula (PMT) applied to the total programme loan amount at your specified annual interest rate. Three terms are shown: 10-year standard, 15-year extended, and 25-year long-term. Payments are estimated to begin after a standard 6-month post-graduation grace period. Actual payments depend on your lender's terms and any income-driven or deferral options available.

What is the debt-to-income caution?

The tool compares your estimated total loan to your expected first-year salary (if entered). If total borrowing exceeds your expected annual starting salary, a caution is shown — as a general rule, total student loan debt should not exceed the borrower's expected first-year income to avoid excessive repayment burden.

Is this tool accurate for non-US students?

Yes — the currency selector supports USD, GBP, EUR, INR, LKR, AUD, and CAD. Enter your country's education costs and funding amounts. The loan type priority guidance is general and applies to most countries' financial aid systems. Use the interest rate input to enter your country's typical government or private loan rate.

How UniCloud360 Loan Estimator Compares

vs spreadsheets, manual processes, and paid platforms

Feature	UniCloud360 UniCloud360 Loan Estimator	Student Loan Repayment Estimator	Financial Need Estimator	Manual Calculation
Estimates how much to borrow	✅ CoA minus all funding sources	❌ Calculates repayments from known loan	⚠️ Calculates need gap — not loan amount	⚠️ Manual and error-prone
Itemised funding breakdown	✅ Grants, scholarships, family, work-study	❌ Single loan amount input	⚠️ Income and assets only	❌ No structured breakdown
Loan type priority guidance	✅ Subsidised → unsubsidised → PLUS → private	❌ Not provided	❌ Not provided	❌ Not provided
Repayment projections	✅ 10 / 15 / 25-year scenarios	✅ Full amortisation schedule	❌ Not included	⚠️ Manual PMT formula required
Debt-to-income caution	✅ Flags if loan exceeds starting salary	❌ Not included	❌ Not included	❌ Not included
PDF and CSV export	✅ Both formats	✅ PDF only	✅ PDF only	❌ No export

What Students and Advisors Are Saying

Trusted by lecturers and students across Sri Lankan universities

4.9

★★★★★

4 reviews

Amara Diallo

Prospective First-Year Student

★★★★★

"I had no idea how to figure out how much I'd actually need to borrow after all my grants. This tool made it so clear — I just entered everything and immediately saw that I only need to borrow about 40% of what I thought. Huge relief."

Mr. Colin Brathwaite

Financial Aid Counsellor

★★★★★

"I use this in advising sessions to show students the difference between their CoA and their actual gap before loans. The repayment scenarios are especially useful — students can immediately see what the 10-year vs 25-year payment looks like."

Sunita Krishnan

Parent

★★★★☆

"We entered every grant and scholarship our daughter received and it instantly told us the gap. The loan priority guide helped us understand why we should max out the subsidised loan before looking at private options."

Dr. Ricardo Fonseca

Dean of Student Affairs

★★★★★

"The debt-to-income caution flag is the most valuable feature for our students, many of whom plan to enter public service or education careers with modest starting salaries. It gives them a concrete reason to minimize borrowing."

Embed This Tool on Your Site

Copy this code to embed the Student Loan Estimator on your financial aid or student services page.

<iframe src="https://unicloud360.com/tools/student-loan-estimator/" width="100%" height="860" frameborder="0" title="Student Loan Estimator by UniCloud360"></iframe>

More Free Student Finance Tools

Free Student Loan Repayment Estimator Calculate monthly instalments, total interest, and a full amortisation schedule for any student loan amount, rate, and term — with PDF export. Free Financial Need Estimator for Schools Estimate a student's financial need gap by comparing cost of attendance against household income, assets, and debt — with EFC calculation, need-level classification, and PDF export. Free Financial Aid Calculator for Schools Add fee components and aid sources — scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study — to instantly calculate net student cost and aid coverage with PDF or CSV export.