Your answer
You have a clear road.
There’s real slack: loans would take 11.2% of pay above basic expenses, leaving about $2,171 a month.
How much your borrowing takes
At $5,000 a year, the ten-year payment of $275 a month takes 11.2% of your pay above basic expenses: a clear road (Good). At $53,293, you could borrow up to $3,500 a year and stay Excellent, $5,300 for a clear road, or $8,000 before it turns into a rough road.
The ten-year payment, the framework’s yardstick, with pay held at $53,293 and basic expenses of $23,940 a year. Above the federal limits ($5,500–$7,500 a year), the rest is counted as a private loan at 14%, which is why the line steepens.
Basic expenses: $23,940 a year, 150% of the 2026 poverty line for one person. 2026–27 federal rates; private loans at an assumed 14%. Earnings are medians, so half of graduates earn less. A planning tool, not financial advice or a prediction. How we calculate it: Methodology