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LIFE DESIGN TOOL
Degree in Seconds
Years of life spent, seconds of interest paid, lifetime return earned. The honest cost of a degree — in the only unit that matters.
The Equation
$
$
$
%
Loan modeled on a standard 10-year repayment. All math happens in your browser.
NET LIFETIME ROI
+$851,895
Your earnings premium ($1,118,000) exceeds your total investment ($266,105).
YEARS OF LIFE
4
Spent in school.
OPPORTUNITY COST
$168,000
Wages you didn't earn.
INTEREST SECONDS
2.76M
Of post-grad work, owed to the lender as pure toll ($26,105).
⚖️
Breakeven
10.2 years after graduation(age 32)
The year the degree's earnings premium finally exceeds everything you paid (tuition + interest + lost wages).
What this doesn't capture
- • Career optionality — some roles simply require the credential.
- • Network, meaning, and identity — real, but not measurable here.
- • Risk — you might not finish; alt-salary might not materialize.
- • The seconds themselves — 4 years of your 20s are not dollars.