The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has launched a new disclosure feature that warns students who fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) if they’re interested in colleges whose graduates have relatively low earnings, the agency said Monday.
According to a December 8, 2025 statement by U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, “Families deserve a clearer picture of how postsecondary education connects to real-world earnings, and this new indicator will provide that transparency. Not only will this new FAFSA feature make public earnings data more accessible, but it will empower prospective students to make data-driven decisions before they are saddled with debt.”
Students submitting the FAFSA form digitally will see a yellow warning box notifying them that some of their selected colleges show “lower earnings,” stating: “Students graduating from some of the schools you selected don’t always earn more money than people with only a high school diploma.”
The new policy, which went into effect on December 7, 2025, is meant to warn students when they’ve indicated interest in a college whose graduates have relatively low incomes.
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