Financial GPS

Financial GPS

Can I, the student, afford it?

Your answer

You have a winding path.

You can get there, but it takes longer: loans would take 12.6% of pay above basic expenses.

To get to a clear road, you’d need to borrow about $300 less a year, or earn about $2,000 more.

$6,000
$0federal limits$60,000
$55,876
$20,000range we model$120,000

How much your borrowing takes

At $6,000 a year, the ten-year payment of $335 a month takes 12.6% of your pay above basic expenses: a winding path (Concerning). At $55,876, you could borrow up to $3,800 a year and stay Excellent, $5,700 for a clear road, or $8,500 before it turns into a rough road.

The ten-year payment, the framework’s yardstick, with pay held at $55,876 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