College / 529

Educational planning support for families thinking through college costs, 529 savings, FAFSA-aware questions, and healthcare-career pathways. 529 savings estimator, state 529 deduction lookup, education cost and earnings estimates, and a healthcare-career pathway browser sourced from BLS data.

What's included

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529 Savings Estimator

Enter your kid's age + school type → projected total cost at enrollment + monthly contribution needed to fund it. Pulls your existing 529 balance automatically.

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Education cost & earnings estimates

Explore programs (MBA / MD / PA / JD / NP / DPT / DDS / PharmD / DVM / OD / MS-CS / PhD / M.Ed / MSW / MPA) and compare cost, time, and lifetime earnings estimates against stopping at bachelor's. Educational estimates only — verify with the program before applying.

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Your State's 529 Deduction

All 50 states + DC. Highlights your home state's deduction cap, whether it's an "any state" or "home state only" plan, plus credits (IN's 20%, UT's, VT's, OR's, etc.).

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College Cost Presets

Community / in-state / out-of-state / private / elite — with full graduate-degree cost tables (tuition low/typical/high) by program.

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Healthcare career pathway browser

Explore common healthcare career paths — including nursing, PA, allied health, and related programs — alongside careers in tech, finance, law, education, trades, and public service. Pulls median + 10th + 90th percentile + growth rate + typical schooling cost from BLS data so families can compare prerequisites, time, cost, and questions to ask before applying.

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Loan-forgiveness programs to research

Reference directory of programs — PSLF, Teacher Loan Forgiveness, NHSC, Nurse Corps, military GI Bill, IDR with 20/25-year forgiveness, AmeriCorps, and state-specific programs — so families can see what exists and prepare questions for the school's financial-aid office or a qualified advisor. Eligibility rules change; verify with official sources before relying on any program.

Side gigs directory

20 side gigs with pay ranges, skill requirements, and platform suggestions, so families can explore income-supplement options to research while paying down student loans.

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529 Rules Reference

Gift exclusion ($19k/yr), 5-year front-loading ($95k), SECURE 2.0 Roth rollover ($35k lifetime), K-12 use ($10k/yr), apprenticeship costs, FAFSA treatment.

Graduate-degree ROI sample

A sample of the 21 grad programs modeled in the app.

Program Years Tuition (typical) Post-grad median ROI note
MBA (Top 10)2$220k$200kBest ROI from consulting/IB/PE recruiting
MBA (Online/Part-time)2$55k$95kBest ROI of any MBA path — employer often pays
MD / DO — Medical Doctor4 + residency$280k$235kPediatrics ~$220k; neurosurgery ~$700k
PA — Physician Assistant2.5$100k$130kHighest ROI in healthcare — no residency
NP — Nurse Practitioner2.5$80k$130kOften employer-paid while you work as RN
JD — Top-14 Law School3$250k$215kBig Law $215k start; ~75% of T14 grads land it
JD — Other ABA School3$150k$85kBimodal — most grads land $55–80k regional jobs
MS Computer Science1.5$75k$145kL4 → L5 bump at FAANG; strong for visa needs
PhD — STEM5.5$0 (funded)$140kNet opp. cost ~$300–400k in lost industry salary
DVM — Veterinarian4$230k$103kWorst debt-to-income ratio in medical field
DDS — Dentist4$280k$170kSpecialists earn $300–500k. Practice ownership = upside
MSW — Social Worker2$60k$58kPSLF-eligible; pair with IDR

Sample state 529 deductions

Full list of all 50 states in the app.

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Colorado — $36k MFJ

The largest 529 deduction in the country. CollegeInvest plan, home-state only.

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Indiana — 20% TAX CREDIT

Up to $1,500/yr credit (not just deduction). Strongest 529 benefit in the US dollar-for-dollar.

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New York — $10k MFJ

NY 529 Direct Plan is among the lowest-cost plans nationally + state tax deduction.

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Pennsylvania — $38k MFJ

Up to the federal annual gift exclusion per beneficiary. Any state's plan qualifies (unique).

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Oklahoma — $20k MFJ

Generous deduction; home-state plan only.

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South Carolina — UNLIMITED

Full deduction of contributions, no cap. Future Scholar 529. Same in West Virginia, New Mexico.

🚧 In active development

All tools are open to use during the beta.

  • ✓ 529 savings estimator
  • ✓ 21 graduate degree cost & earnings estimates
  • ✓ All 50 states' 529 deductions
  • ✓ 40+ career paths with BLS salary data
  • ✓ Directory of 10 loan-forgiveness programs to research
  • ✓ Side gigs directory
  • ✓ Plus: Taxes, Retirement, Estate, Forum, more
Open the App

Educational support, not professional advice. Program requirements, admissions rules, licensing rules, aid rules, and tax rules change. Always verify directly with the school, program, financial-aid office, licensing board, CPA, or qualified professional before acting. We are not a CPA, tax attorney, college admissions counselor, financial-aid officer, FAFSA expert, or admissions expert, and we don't guarantee admission, aid, tax savings, or career outcome.

Common questions

Can I use ANY state's 529 plan?
Mostly yes. About a third of states have an "any state plan" deduction (PA, AR, AZ, KS, ME, MN, MO, MT). The rest require you to use your HOME state's plan to get the deduction. We show you exactly which is which.
What if I overfund the 529?
Some possibilities to discuss with a financial planner: (1) change beneficiary to another family member, (2) use for grad school, (3) under SECURE 2.0, families may roll up to $35,000 lifetime to a Roth IRA in the beneficiary's name if the account has been open 15+ years. Specific eligibility rules change — verify with a qualified professional before acting.
Does this help with FAFSA?
We show information about how FAFSA treats parent-owned vs grandparent-owned 529s (the 2024 simplification changed this significantly) — as background to help families prepare better questions, not as eligibility advice. We don't fill out FAFSA itself. Use studentaid.gov and your school's financial-aid office for that.