# Can you afford this college?

> Can you afford college? Pick a college, enter what you plan to borrow and compare the payment with its graduates' median earnings and the 8% federal benchmark.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page (interactive calculator): https://www.collegesref.com/tools/college-affordability-check
- Rules: 2026–27 federal student aid year, checked 2026-11-05
- Results are estimates, not an official determination by the U.S. Department of Education or a college.

## How it works

### Your loan payment

Total borrowing (per year × years) is repaid on the Tiered Standard Plan that new borrowers get, at the 2026–27 undergraduate rate of 6.52%.

### Graduates' earnings

The college's median earnings come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard: the middle salary of former students who received federal aid, measured some years after they started. We divide it by 12.

### The benchmark

The payment as a share of monthly earnings is compared with 8%, the debt-to-earnings level the Department of Education used in its 2023 rule for judging programs. Treat it as guidance: it was set for programs, not people.

## Worked example

1. Borrowing $6,750 a year for 4 years adds up to $27,000.
2. On the 15-year Tiered Standard Plan at 6.52%, that is $236 a month.
3. If graduates earn a median of $50,000 ($4,167 a month), the payment is 5.7% of earnings, within the 8% benchmark.

## Assumptions and limits

- Student loans only. Parent PLUS loans, private loans and credit cards are not included.
- Interest that builds up while you are in school is not added, so the real payment can be somewhat higher.
- Median earnings are pre-tax, cover all majors at the college and come from students who received federal aid.
- The benchmark is guidance from a federal rule for programs, not an official judgment about you.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much student loan debt is too much?

One federal yardstick: in its 2023 gainful-employment rule, the Department of Education treated a program as passing when graduates' typical annual loan payments were no more than 8% of their median annual earnings. This tool applies the same 8% level to your planned borrowing as guidance.

### How do I know if I can afford a college?

Start with the college's net price (what students pay after grants), subtract the grants and savings you expect, then see how much you would need to borrow. Compare the resulting loan payment with what graduates of that college earn, and run the college's net price calculator for a personal estimate.

### Where do the earnings figures come from?

The U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. It reports the median earnings of former students who received federal aid, measured several years after they started college. Earnings vary widely by major.

### Why does the tool use the Tiered Standard Plan?

It is the fixed-payment plan for loans first paid out from July 1, 2026, so it is what a student borrowing now would be offered. The repayment calculator also shows the income-based Repayment Assistance Plan.

### What if a college has no earnings data?

Some colleges, often small ones, have too few federally aided graduates for the Scorecard to report earnings. The tool says so rather than guessing; compare with similar colleges instead.

## Official sources

- [Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment final rule, 34 CFR 668.402 (Federal Register, Oct. 10, 2023)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/10/10/2023-20385/financial-value-transparency-and-gainful-employment)
- [Interest Rates for Federal Direct Loans First Disbursed Between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027 (GENERAL-26-33, June 4, 2026)](https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2026-06-04/interest-rates-federal-direct-loans-first-disbursed-between-july-1-2026-and-june-30-2027)
- [Lower Payment Options: Tiered Standard Plan and standard plan (Edfinancial, studentaid.gov)](https://edfinancial.studentaid.gov/lower-payment-options)

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Source: CollegesRef, https://www.collegesref.com/tools/college-affordability-check. Shared result links (https://www.collegesref.com/tools/college-affordability-check?…) hold only calculator inputs.