data
How many loans would a no-loan school loan, if a no-loan school could give loans? If you said the answer was zero, you'd be wrong. In reality it's over 20,000 families with over a billion dollars in parent loans outstanding (across the 28 institutions with
Parent PLUS loans hide a second debt burden. We analyzed debt burdens to show how family finances change when parents borrow too—and who gets squeezed.
GPS
A risk framework for evaluating college debt: Green Zone, Blue Zone, Yellow Zone, Red Zone. Which schools are worth the bet?
GPS Framework
Financial GPS is a new framework for navigating college debt. See how payment burden tiers work, why ROI metrics fall short, and how to find schools where debt actually works.
Is College Worth It
I want to start Part 3 with something that's been on my mind: the power of example, and the danger of leaving things unsaid. I sometimes sense a hesitance among many to talk about the downsides of college. The worry is that acknowledging the risks might discourage people
Parent plus
400,000 families a year can't afford their Parent PLUS loans. At private universities, 58% are underwater. Here's what return on investment calculations miss.
The median college grad breaks even by 27. But at the same school, net price can vary by $50K+ based on income. Here's what the affordability debates miss.
Programs
Stop choosing programs by school prestige. SIU-Carbondale ranks #1 nationally in 2 fields. Here's the data-driven framework for evaluating college programs.
Illinois
A little over a decade ago, I moved back home for family reasons and used it as an opportunity to step back and think about the problems I wanted to work on. The question of how people pay for college was the one that kept resonating with me, time and
Thanks for stopping by College Azimuth. This site exists to help everyday people—students, families, parents, counselors, policymakers—make sense of the enormous amount of information surrounding higher education. College, despite all the debate around it, remains one of the most consequential financial decisions a person and their family can