How our tools get their numbers

The rule it follows

Pell for 2026-27 is the $7,395 maximum minus your Student Aid Index, when that leaves at least $740. The index comes from the federal formula and your answers. State grants, campus aid, Work-Study and loan limits come from each program’s published rules.

What it can’t see

Your exact tax figures, your school’s own aid policy and its cost of attendance. Your FAFSA and your school’s aid offer set the real amounts.

The rule it follows

The Student Aid Index formula Federal Student Aid publishes for the award year: income above allowances for taxes, household size and work, plus part of your savings.

What it can’t see

Changes your aid office makes for special circumstances, or after verification. StudentAid.gov issues your official index when you file.

The rule it follows

The FAFSA’s own dependency questions: a birth-date cutoff for the award year, plus marriage, children you support, military service, graduate study, foster care or homelessness.

What it can’t see

A dependency override, which only your school’s aid office can grant for unusual circumstances.

The rule it follows

The Pell lifetime limit of 600%, the equivalent of 12 full-time terms. A part-time term uses only part of a year’s Pell.

What it can’t see

Your official figure: the Pell lifetime eligibility used, on the grants page of your StudentAid.gov account.

The rule it follows

Bureau of Labor Statistics pay (May 2025 wages), job outlook (2025 to 2035 projections) and the education BLS lists as typical to enter each job.

What it can’t see

Pay where you live, the schools near you, and whether a program fits your schedule.

The rule it follows

The federal Medicaid work rule (Public Law 119-21 and CMS’s interim final rule) for adults 19 to 64 in the expansion group: 80 hours a month of work, community service or a work program, school at least half-time, a mix of these, or income of at least $580. Below half-time, a credit counts as 12.99 hours a month. Which states run it comes from Medicaid.gov.

What it can’t see

Who your state counts in each exempt group, its own start date and checks, and your school’s definition of half-time. Only your state Medicaid office decides. The rule is interim and is being challenged in court.

The rule it follows

What a school costs you is its cost of attendance minus grants and scholarships. Loans and work-study don’t lower it, and federal loan fees come off before the money reaches your bill.

What it can’t see

Line items with unusual names, which it may sort into the wrong group. Your school’s aid office can explain any item.

The rule it follows

Bureau of Labor Statistics median pay for the job you pick, set against your current pay, tuition and years in school, over ten years.

What it can’t see

Your own career path. A median means half of workers earn less, and pay varies by place and employer.

The rule it follows

Each employer’s own benefits page, and the IRS rule that up to $5,250 a year of employer education help can be tax-free (section 127).

What it can’t see

Your role, tenure or plan year. Your HR or benefits team confirms what you get.

The rule it follows

VA’s published rates for the benefit year: tuition and fees, housing by your school’s ZIP code and books at your Post-9/11 tier, and flat monthly rates for the other chapters.

What it can’t see

Your official tier and months left, which are on your Certificate of Eligibility, and each school’s Yellow Ribbon places.

The rule it follows

Each service’s Tuition Assistance policy (a rate per credit and a yearly cap, paid to the school for tuition) and the SpouseWorks rules on Military OneSource.

What it can’t see

Your command’s approval and your education office’s rules for your course. You apply through your service’s education portal.

The rule it follows

New graduate students can borrow up to $20,500 a year and $100,000 in total; professional students up to $50,000 a year and $200,000. Part-time study cuts the yearly limit in proportion.

What it can’t see

Your school’s cost of attendance and its own aid. The school’s aid office sets what you can actually borrow.

The rule it follows

Federal Student Aid’s rates and plan terms: RAP and Tiered Standard for loans first paid out on or after July 1, 2026, and the older plans for earlier loans.

What it can’t see

Future changes in your income, deferment, forbearance and capitalized interest. StudentAid.gov’s Loan Simulator reads your actual loans.

The rule it follows

The federal credit-hour rule (about 45 hours of work per semester credit), your weekly hours and weeks of class a year, against 120 credits for a bachelor’s and 60 for an associate.

What it can’t see

How many of your credits a school accepts, and its own calendar, prerequisites and residency rules.

The rule it follows

StudentAid.gov’s published steps: 90 days from a servicer’s SAVE notice to pick a plan, the auto pay rate cut for Direct Loans first paid out on or after July 1, 2012 if you sign up by the deadline, and rehabilitation or consolidation to leave default.

What it can’t see

Your loans themselves: their status, dates and servicer, and the exact date on your notice. Your StudentAid.gov dashboard and your servicer have them.