Carly will be going to college in 3 years. She anticipates that she will need [tex]\$12,000[/tex] to pay for the first year. She currently has [tex]\$2,900[/tex] in a savings account. Without including any interest earned, what is a reasonable estimate of the amount Carly needs to deposit into the savings account per month over the next 3 years to be able to pay for her first year of college?

A. [tex]\$150[/tex]
B. [tex]\$250[/tex]
C. [tex]\[tex]$350[/tex]
D. [tex]\$[/tex]450[/tex]



Answer :

Let's break down the problem step by step to determine the reasonable estimate of the monthly amount Carly needs to deposit into her savings account over the next 3 years.

### Step 1: Total Amount Needed
Carly needs [tex]$\$[/tex]12,000[tex]$ for her first year of college. ### Step 2: Current Savings She already has $[/tex]\[tex]$2,900$[/tex] in her savings account.

### Step 3: Remaining Amount to Save
To find out how much more Carly needs to save, subtract her current savings from the total amount needed:
[tex]\[ 12,000 - 2,900 = 9,100 \][/tex]
Carly needs to save an additional [tex]$\$[/tex]9,100[tex]$. ### Step 4: Time Frame Carly has 3 years to save this amount. ### Step 5: Number of Months in 3 Years There are 12 months in a year, thus: \[ 3 \text{ years} \times 12 \text{ months/year} = 36 \text{ months} \] ### Step 6: Monthly Savings Requirement Now, we need to find out how much Carly needs to save each month. Divide the remaining amount needed by the number of months: \[ \frac{9,100}{36} \approx 252.78 \] So, Carly needs to save approximately $[/tex]\[tex]$252.78$[/tex] per month.

### Conclusion:
We compare this amount to the given options: [tex]$\$[/tex]150, \[tex]$250, \$[/tex]350[tex]$, and $[/tex]\[tex]$450$[/tex]. The closest estimate is [tex]$\$[/tex]250[tex]$. Therefore, Carly needs to deposit approximately $[/tex]\[tex]$250$[/tex] per month into her savings account over the next 3 years to be able to pay for her first year of college.