Overview
- The feature is now live, showing a yellow "lower earnings" box after students complete the FAFSA digitally and allowing them to review outcomes and modify their college list.
- Warnings are based on median earnings four years after graduation compared with the median wages of high school graduates in the same state, or the national median for colleges drawing mostly out-of-state students.
- The notice is informational only and does not affect aid eligibility or FAFSA submission, with first-time undergraduates seeing the label on their FAFSA Submission Summary.
- A newly posted dataset identifies nearly 1,000 flagged institutions that together enroll about 2% of undergraduates and received nearly $4 billion in Pell Grants and undergraduate loans in 2024–25.
- Many flagged schools are smaller private or trade programs, including numerous cosmetology institutions, with California listed as having the most and Hawaii, Rhode Island, and South Dakota among the fewest.