This New Zealand calculator estimates the full cost of a university degree, combining fees, living costs and the student loan built up, against any allowance or part-time income. You enter the course length and your situation, and it shows the total cost and likely loan, helping students and parents plan for tertiary study.
Assumes about 40 study weeks a year for living costs. A student allowance, where eligible, does not have to be repaid, while fees and the living-cost shortfall are commonly borrowed and repaid later. Fees and support change, so check current figures. Estimate only.
The calculator adds the tuition fees across the years of study, and the living costs across about 40 study weeks a year, then subtracts any allowance and part-time income to find the living-cost shortfall you need to cover. The total cost is fees plus living costs. The likely student loan is the fees plus the shortfall, which is the amount typically borrowed and repaid once you are earning above the repayment threshold.
A 3-year degree at $7,500 a year is $22,500 of fees. Living at $350 a week over 40 weeks is $14,000 a year, less $150 a week of part-time work, a shortfall of about $8,000 a year. Over three years the likely loan is roughly $46,500, which is repaid from income after study.
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