Paying for college
The FAFSA's lower earnings warning: what it means for your list
After you submit the FAFSA, a yellow box can say some of your schools show lower earnings. It means a college's typical graduate earned less, four years out, than a typical young high school graduate in that state. It does not change your aid. How it works and what to do.
6-minute read
The short answer: if your FAFSA Submission Summary says "Some of Your Selected Schools Show Lower Earnings," at least one college on your FAFSA has graduates whose typical pay, four years after graduating, is below the typical pay of high school graduates aged 25 to 34 in that college's state. It is information only. It does not change your aid, your Student Aid Index, or whether you can get federal aid at that college. It also looks at the whole college, not at your major. Here is how the warning works, according to Federal Student Aid's own guidance, and how to check a college's pay before you file.
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1What the warning says and where you see it
- After you submit, not while you fill it in. The notice appears on your FAFSA Submission Summary once your form is processed, as a yellow box: "Some of Your Selected Schools Show Lower Earnings."
- Only for first-year undergraduates. Federal Student Aid says the indicator applies only to first-year undergraduate students, so a student filing for a later year does not see it.
- It shows every school on your list. Opening the notice ("See These Schools") shows the earnings figure for all the schools you selected, with the lower-earning ones flagged.
- You can change your list from there. The page lets you update the schools on your FAFSA if you want to. You do not have to.
2How the government decides which colleges get flagged
Federal Student Aid compares two numbers for each college:
- 1The college's graduates. The median earnings of undergraduates who finished in 2017-18 and 2018-19, received federal student aid, were working, and were not back in school, measured four years after graduation. The figures come from the College Scorecard and are adjusted for inflation.
- 2Young high school graduates. The median earnings of people aged 25 to 34 whose highest education is a high school diploma or GED and who had earnings, from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
Usually the comparison is with high school graduates in the college's own state. If the college has locations in more than one state, or most of its first-year students come from other states, it is compared with the national figure instead. Colleges that grant only graduate degrees, and colleges with no published earnings data, are left out.
3What the warning does not mean
- It does not change your aid. Federal Student Aid says it does not affect your eligibility for federal aid, your Student Aid Index, or how your FAFSA is processed and sent to colleges.
- It is about the whole college, not your major. The figure covers all of a college's graduates. Pay varies a lot by program, so a college can be flagged overall and still have programs that pay well, or the other way around.
- It is about past graduates, not about you. The guidance says past results at a college do not predict any one student's pay, and it is not a judgment on whether a college is worth attending.
- It is not new this year. The indicator started on December 7, 2025, during the 2026-27 FAFSA cycle, and it carries over to the 2027-28 form that opened on September 23, 2026.
4Should you drop a college that gets flagged?
Not automatically. This part is our advice, not the government's. A flag is a reason to look closer, not a verdict. Three questions help:
- 1What would you study there? Look up earnings for your intended program, not just the college. The College Scorecard shows field-of-study earnings for many programs.
- 2What would it cost your family? A college with lower pay after graduation and a high net price is a different decision from one with lower pay and a low net price. Compare what you would actually pay, not the sticker price.
- 3Why is it on your list? Location, a specific program, family, or a sport can all be good reasons. Keep the college if the reason is strong, and add a comparison school if it is not.
Keeping a flagged college on your FAFSA costs nothing. Removing it only stops your FAFSA information from being sent there.
5Check a college's pay before you file
You do not have to wait for the Submission Summary. Two free places show a college's pay today, and they measure slightly different things, so it helps to know which is which:
| FAFSA lower earnings flag | Blueprint college profile | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is counted | Graduates who received federal aid | Students who received federal aid, whether or not they graduated |
| When pay is measured | Four years after graduating | Ten years after enrolling |
| Compared with | High school graduates aged 25 to 34 in the state (or nationally) | Shown as a dollar figure; compare colleges side by side yourself |
| Source | College Scorecard, via Federal Student Aid | College Scorecard |
Federal Student Aid Data Center and Electronic Announcement GENERAL-25-49 (updated Mar 23, 2026); Blueprint college profiles. Read October 5, 2026.
On Blueprint, search any of 1,959 U.S. colleges by name and open its profile to see the median pay ten years after enrolling, or put two colleges side by side on a compare page. The federal list of every college and its flag is published on the FSA Data Center at StudentAid.gov.
Frequently asked questions
What does "Some of Your Selected Schools Show Lower Earnings" mean on the FAFSA?
At least one college on your FAFSA has graduates whose median earnings four years after graduating are below the median earnings of high school graduates aged 25 to 34 in that state, or nationally for colleges that mostly enroll out-of-state students.
Does the FAFSA lower earnings flag affect my financial aid?
No. Federal Student Aid says it does not affect your federal aid eligibility, your Student Aid Index, or how your FAFSA is processed.
Does the earnings warning look at my major?
No. It uses one figure for the whole college. Earnings vary by program, so check your intended major's earnings separately on the College Scorecard.
Who sees the FAFSA earnings warning?
Only students filing as first-year undergraduates, and only after the FAFSA is submitted and processed, on the FAFSA Submission Summary.
Can I remove a flagged college from my FAFSA?
Yes. The notice lets you update the list of schools on your FAFSA, but you do not have to. Keeping a college on the list costs nothing.
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Take the free quiz for a balanced list, then look up each college's pay ten years after enrolling before you send your FAFSA.
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