Will your degree pay for itself?
Know if your degree is really worth the bill
The federal government is proposing a new financial rule for 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, that program could lose access to your tax dollars.
This site is a waiting room for the data. We track the proposed rules now. In 2027, when the government releases 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
In plain English: Uncle Sam wants to know if your school is a good investment.
Under the proposed “Financial Do-No-Harm” rule, the government plans to grade every degree program on hard numbers, not marketing brochures.
Three red flags would trigger review:
- Too much debt. Your monthly loan payment would eat up more than 15% of your monthly paycheck.
- Too many defaults. Over 30% of graduates stop paying their loans entirely within 5 years.
- False advertising. The school promised a $60k starting salary, but graduates are actually making $40k.
If a program fails these checks, the government could cut off its federal funding for new students.
Sources: Federal Register, 2026; 34 C.F.R. § 668.7.
How the grade works
15% — monthly payment share that signals unaffordable debt.
30% — five-year default rate that signals distress.
4 years — after completion is when earnings are measured, so early-career numbers count.
Programs failing the earnings test two out of three years lose 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 is disbursed.
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 on graduate and professional programs, effective July 1, 2026, end the ability to borrow potentially unlimited amounts of federal student debt.
This is the main event.
Colleges are now required to report program-by-program data to the Department of Education under a new system called STATS: program costs, how much students borrow, and whether they complete the program. The Department then combines that with federal tax and loan-repayment records to calculate what each program's graduates actually earn and owe.
By July 4, 2027, they plan to release program-specific earnings and debt for every college in the country. When that data drops, this site becomes a simple search engine: type in your college and your major, and find out what your degree is really worth.
What the program charges — tuition, fees, and reported program costs under STATS.
How much students actually borrow, including federal and private loans.
Whether students finish the program — 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.
Questions & answers
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 on graduate and professional programs, effective July 1, 2026, 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: program costs, private loans, and whether students complete the program (first 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 — just real money moving through the system, plus what your school reports.
When can I actually search for my school?
The Department will first calculate program earnings outcomes in early 2027 (for the 2027-2028 award year) and will keep publishing that data. When the federal data is released, this site's search tool goes live. Our target launch date 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). Gainful employment: Proposed rule (Vol. 90, No. 45). 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.