The US Department of Education announced on Monday (December 8th) that a “Graduate Income Alert” will be added at the end of the latest Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), directly informing students whether the average income of graduates from their chosen college is below average. This reform aims to provide students with key financial information about their institution when applying for financial aid, eliminating the need to search for data on other websites.
Currently, when filling out the FAFSA (see “FAFSA User Guide (2026-27)”), students are required to select the universities they are interested in. If they want to know about the income and employment performance of graduates from that school, they must visit platforms like the College Scorecard. With the update, FAFSA will display the crucial financial data of these institutions directly. A prominent “low income” warning will pop up if the average income of graduates from a particular university is below that of high school graduates.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated that this design is in response to the societal questioning of whether the return on investment in higher education matches the cost. She pointed out, “More than half of Americans believe that a college degree is not worth the high cost. Currently, outstanding student loan debt totals nearly $1.7 trillion. Families should have a clearer understanding of the connection between higher education and actual income, and this new indicator will provide that transparency.”
She added, “This new FAFSA feature not only makes it easier for students to access public income data but also helps prospective students make data-based decisions before taking on debt.”
The Department of Education stated that about 2% of college students attend institutions where graduates have lower income than high school graduates, yet these schools receive billions of dollars in federal student aid annually.
The Department of Education pointed out that students who wish to have a more detailed understanding of a college’s financial situation can still visit the College Scorecard website (CollegeScorecard.ed.gov) for further information.
Previously, as the Biden administration sought to streamline the FAFSA application process, after experiencing years of setbacks, the Trump administration took the lead in introducing the FAFSA application form, bringing the application process back on track.
Some predict that this year’s FAFSA applications will reach a record high. However, various polls also show that Americans are increasingly skeptical about the return on investment in higher education.
In conclusion, the Department of Education hopes that through this reform, information transparency will be enhanced, allowing students to comprehensively evaluate whether their investment in education aligns with future income when facing high tuition fees and significant student loans.