As the economy continues to worsen, nobody is really sure when we will hit the bottom and start to see some improvement. Many students and parents are wondering how they are going to pay for college. Tuition and fees rise just about every year and in 2007, college tuition and fees increased 439 percent in the past 13 years. Thats higher than the consumer price index, which went up by 106 percent in the same time frame.

Unfortunately a bad economy may mean there is less money out there to be had. So here are some tools to help you find what's out there, see what college could cost you and try to figure out how loans will affect what you owe after graduation.

Here is a college cost calculator from www.collegeboard.com

This is another college loan calculator that can help you figure out how much your monthly loan repayments will be.

The best one that I've seen so far is this Sallie Mae investment planner. It shows you the estimated cost of all 4 years of school and allows you to subtract what you have in savings and from income, grants and scholarships. It then shows you charts and tables of what's left to pay for and helps you figure out how best to pay for it. At the end, based on the information given, it comes up with estimated total monthly payments. It really is a great tool.

For more information on types of loans, how much debt is too much and breakdowns of costs and enrollment, check out my News Illustrated page on the back of Outlook on Sunday.