Will your degree pay for itself?
Know if your degree is really worth the bill
The federal government is proposing a new financial rule. It applies to colleges that take federal student aid (Pell Grants, federal loans).
The idea is simple. If a program leaves graduates with debt they can't afford, it could lose access to your tax dollars.
This site is a waiting room for the data. We track the final rule now. In 2027 the government will release actual earnings and debt numbers for every college major. This will be the place to look them up.
Until the federal data release · July 4, 2027 (ET)
In plain English: Uncle Sam wants to know if your school is a good investment.
Under the final “Financial Do-No-Harm” rule, the government grades every degree program on one hard number: what its graduates earn.
The earnings test:
- Beat the benchmark. An undergraduate program passes if its graduates’ median earnings, four years after finishing, are at least as high as the median for employed high-school graduates (ages 25–34) in the same state.
- Two strikes. A program that fails the test two out of three years loses Direct Loan eligibility for new students.
- Graduate programs are measured against bachelor’s-degree earners instead of high-school graduates.
The final rule published July 1, 2026 and takes effect July 1, 2027. Program-level earnings publish July 4, 2027.
Sources: Federal Register, 2026; 34 C.F.R. § 668.7.
How the grade works
4 (years) — after completion is when earnings are measured, so early-career numbers count.
25–34 (ages) — the benchmark is the median earnings of employed high-school graduates in that age band, in the program’s state.
2 of 3 (years) — failing the test two out of three years costs a program Direct Loan eligibility for new students. Existing loans are not affected.
What the final rule does for you
Warnings before your program loses funding
If a program is at risk of losing federal aid, your school must warn current and prospective students. You'll also get a notice of your remaining Pell Grant eligibility each time Pell funds are paid out.
Real earnings data goes public
The Department will publish each program's actual graduate earnings, measured four years after completion. That's the data that will power the search tool coming in 2027, so you can see what a major really pays before you sign.
New caps on graduate borrowing
New loan limits for graduate and professional programs start July 1, 2026. They cap how much federal student debt you can take on.
What the 2027 release changes.
Colleges must now report data for each program to the Department of Education. This uses a new system called STATS. Schools report program costs, how much students borrow, and whether they finish. The Department combines that with federal tax and loan-repayment records. That shows what each program's graduates actually earn and owe.
They plan to release earnings and debt for every program by July 4, 2027. Then this site becomes a simple search engine. Type in your college and major to see what your degree is really worth.
What the program charges: tuition, fees, and reported program costs.
How much students borrow — federal and private loans.
Whether students finish — completion rates as reported by schools.
Median earnings four years after completion, from federal tax records.
Static preview — no data is fetched until the federal release.
The Current Data
Don’t wait for 2027 — browse current bachelor’s earnings by school and program right now. Medians come straight from federal data; spreads are modeled and labeled as such.
Explore current earnings →Questions & answers
How can I look at current income data?
You can browse current bachelor's earnings by school and program right now at The Current Data. Medians come straight from federal data. Spreads are modeled and labeled. The full 2027 program-level release arrives July 4, 2027.
Does this rule affect the loans I already have?
No. The rule is now final, but it changes whether a program can keep taking new federal aid going forward, not loans you already have. Programs that fail the earnings test two out of three years lose Direct Loan eligibility for new students. Existing loans are not retroactively affected.
I'm going to med school / law school. My debt is huge. Does that count against me?
Graduate and professional programs are held to a different bar than undergraduate programs. Their graduates must earn more than the median bachelor's degree holder. (Undergrad programs must beat median high-school-only earnings.) Earnings are measured four years after completion. The earnings test doesn't penalize high debt directly. But new loan limits for graduate and professional programs start July 1, 2026, and rein in unlimited borrowing.
Where does the government get this data?
From two sources that get combined. First, your college reports program-level data every year under the new STATS system. That means program costs, private loans, and whether students finish. The first reports are due October 1, 2026. Second, the Department combines that with federal tax records and official loan-repayment data to calculate each program's median graduate earnings. No surveys. Administrative records on both sides.
When can I actually search for my school?
The Department's final rule takes effect July 1, 2027 (for the 2027-2028 award year) and it will keep publishing program earnings data. Our target launch date for the full search tool is July 4, 2027, tracked by the countdown at the top of this page.
Is this website run by the government?
No. This is an independent, free resource built for students and families. We are not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education, the White House, or any state agency. For official legal text, please visit www.ed.gov.
Sources & citations
U.S. Department of Education. (2026, June 29). Fact sheet: Trump Administration implements accountability provisions of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act. https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fact-sheet-trump-administration-implements-accountability-provisions-of-working-families-tax-cuts-act-june-29-2026-114288.pdf
Federal Register. (2026). Accountability in Higher Education and Access Through Demand-Driven Workforce Pell: final rule on the Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS) and earnings accountability (July 1, 2026). https://www.federalregister.gov
Code of Federal Regulations. (2026). Student assistance general provisions (34 C.F.R. Part 668). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34
WorthTheBill.org. (2026). Terms of use. https://worththebill.org/terms.html
Inline citations on this page link to the references above.