Graduate school can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Before committing that time and money, you should know whether it actually makes financial sense for your situation. Most free calculators are general, thus they don't take personal factors into account, in addition most ignore opportunity cost, funding structure, and uncertainty. This model is designed to reflect how graduate school decisions actually play out financially.

Graduate school can cost anywhere from tens of thousands to several hundred thousand dollars. When I finished undergrad, I assumed I would go straight into a master’s program. But the more I looked into it, the harder it was to answer a simple question: Would it actually make financial sense? Most advice focused on prestige, passion, or career narratives. Very few tools accounted for things like lost income, debt, uncertainty, and how outcomes can vary wildly between people. So I built something for myself. It’s a decision toolkit that estimates the financial payoff of graduate school using your own assumptions, not averages. I ended up deciding not to go immediately. I may still go in a few years. But building this helped me think much more clearly about the tradeoffs. I’m sharing it now as a free public beta in case it helps others facing the same decision. If you’re considering grad school (or recently went), I’d genuinely appreciate any feedback. Link: https://djcanalytics.gumroad.com... What factors mattered most in your decision to pursue — or skip — graduate school?

This is really interesting! I tried doing something similar myself when I was debating going to do a PHD, would your tool work for that?

After trying your tool it seems pretty specifically designed for masters and MBAs. I wonder, have you considered making a version of this for PHDs?

This is really interesting! I tried doing something similar myself when I was debating going to do a PHD, would your tool work for that?

After trying your tool it seems pretty specifically designed for masters and MBAs. I wonder, have you considered making a version of this for PHDs?

Graduate School ROI Decision Toolkit

Estimate whether grad school is financially worth it

Estimate whether grad school is financially worth it