How the College Cost Green Light works
College Cost Green Light is an educational planning tool. It does not predict an individual salary, determine federal aid eligibility, or provide financial advice.
1. Federal earnings information
When available, the tool is designed to display program-level earnings and debt from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, using the agency’s published definition and measurement period. When that precise data is not available, the tool says so rather than estimating it.
The career comparison uses median annual pay published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each result identifies the occupation, SOC code, geographic level, measurement period, and source link. A national value may be used as a clearly labeled fallback when a state value has not been loaded.
2. Federal earnings benchmark
The architecture allows an applicable federal earnings benchmark to be shown as a separate analysis. Thresholds are not hardcoded as permanent values. If the applicable benchmark dataset is not loaded, the result says “unavailable” and does not substitute another number.
Read the July 1, 2026 federal rule ↗
3. College Without Cost debt guideline
A plan receives a green result when projected total student loan debt is less than or equal to the selected career’s expected annual earnings. It receives a red result when debt is higher. This is a College Without Cost planning guideline—not a federal rule, legal standard, or guarantee.
4. Take-home pay and living-cost estimate
The affordability check is separate from the federal earnings information and College Without Cost debt guideline. It applies 2026 federal income-tax brackets and the standard deduction for the selected filing status. It also estimates the employee share of Social Security and Medicare taxes. Users enter estimated state and local income taxes because those rules vary by jurisdiction and personal circumstances.
Living expenses are user-entered monthly amounts for housing, utilities, food, transportation, health and insurance, childcare, and other essentials. The tool compares annualized living expenses with estimated take-home pay. Its “breathing room” indicator is a planning aid, not a federal rule or financial recommendation.
Limitations
- Actual pay varies by location, experience, employer, hours, and economic conditions.
- A field of study can lead to many occupations; users should choose the career that best matches their plan.
- Estimated taxes do not include every credit, deduction, benefit, or state and local rule.
- Estimated borrowing and affordability depend on the accuracy of user-entered costs, taxes, aid, savings, and other inputs.
- Institution search results support planning but do not mean exact program-level federal data is available.
Privacy
No account is required. The calculator does not ask for a name, email address, or other personally identifying information. Calculator inputs remain in the browser and are not stored by this tool.