Analysis

Across 3,133 colleges, the sticker price predicts almost nothing about what a family pays. The same seat is means-tested by income — and 25 schools charge below zero.

The standard rule — never borrow more than your first-year salary — is blind to AI. A 'safe' debt ratio tells you almost nothing about whether the pay will last.

Students want a major that pays well and resists AI. Across 24,479 programs, those goals pull apart: the highest-paying 'smart' majors are the most AI-exposed.

Recent-grad unemployment hit 5.6% as AI thins entry-level hiring. Why your major's first-job risk, not its average salary, is the number that matters.

An award letter tells you the price to the dollar and the return not at all. Here's how to reconstruct the number it leaves off: completion, expected earnings, AI exposure.

The right major at 22 is often the wrong major at 40. A shorter working horizon and a steeper AI exposure curve invert several of the obvious safe picks.

39.4% of recent grads work jobs that don't need a degree. The rate by major ranges from 13% to 66%. We mapped that against AI exposure — the combinations are sometimes counterintuitive.

The Education Department's new STATS rule ties federal loan eligibility to state earnings floors of $26K–$38K. Which bachelor's programs would fail.

Starting July 1, 2026, federal student loans operate under new rules. The payback math, major by major — who wins, who's locked out, what RAP changes.

Most AI-proof career lists are vibes. We ran every bachelor's path through a pessimistic AI scenario — only 12 careers stay above 5× degree ROI. Here they are.

We analyzed 24,000+ degree programs using federal earnings data to find which college majors deliver the best return on tuition. Here are the results.