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Education & Student Debt
"Will the degree pay off?"
Price every education path before you commit — degree vs no degree, bootcamp vs degree, grad school vs staying put, and the federal-loan side: Income-Driven Repayment with its forgiveness + tax bomb, and PSLF with its 120-payment tax-free finish line for public-service workers. Population medians shown honestly with the variance caveat; every formula visible, IDR/PSLF rules dated to 2025 and noted as subject to change.
Education sells on the median. The decision lives in the variance.
"A bachelor's earns $1M more over a career" is technically true and decision-uselessly aggregate. Engineering majors clear $3M+, general humanities can land below skilled trades. PSLF can forgive six figures tax-free — or zero if your employer doesn't qualify. IDR can rescue a struggling borrower or land them with a $40K tax bomb at year 20. These tools surface the specific numbers — your tuition, your major's salary, your loan balance, your employer's eligibility — so the decision is yours on actual math, not a brochure average.
Is a college degree still worth it?
On the median, yes — but the median hides huge variance. BLS Education Pays puts the median bachelor's-vs-HS lifetime earnings gap near $1.2-1.6M. Georgetown CEW's College Payoff finds engineering and computer-science majors clear $3M+, while early-childhood education and some social-work majors net less than skilled trades with zero debt. The Degree ROI tool lets you plug your specific tuition and major-specific starting salary; the lifetime delta and breakeven year tell you where on that spread your specific decision falls.
What's the difference between IDR forgiveness and PSLF?
Two things. (1) Timeline: PSLF forgives after 120 qualifying payments (10 years); regular IDR forgives after 240 or 300 months (20 or 25 years). (2) Tax: PSLF forgiveness is FEDERALLY TAX-FREE under IRC §108(f)(4); regular IDR forgiveness is taxable as ordinary income in the forgiveness year (the 'tax bomb'). PSLF requires working full-time for a US government or 501(c)(3) employer — if you're eligible, it almost always beats regular IDR forgiveness. Source: studentaid.gov, IRC §108(f)(4).
Should I refinance my federal student loans into a private loan to get a lower rate?
Almost never if you're pursuing PSLF — refinancing is a one-way door: federal loans become private and PERMANENTLY lose eligibility for PSLF, IDR, and all federal protections. The CFPB has warned about this repeatedly. If PSLF is off the table AND you have stable high income AND you don't anticipate needing IDR's safety net (e.g. for job loss), a lower private rate can save real interest. The Student Loan Refinance tool prices the interest savings; the value of the federal protections you'd give up is usually larger than the rate improvement.
Is a bootcamp a real alternative to a CS degree?
Sometimes — and only in fields where employers genuinely hire both routes (software, data, some design, not regulated professions). Course Report's 2024 outcomes show a median grad earning ~$70K, but placement varies enormously: 60-80% at the better programs, much lower elsewhere. The Bootcamp vs Degree tool models the 'if you land the job' case. Stress-test by lowering the bootcamp salary to your fallback (what you'd earn if it didn't work out) before committing.
Is grad school worth the $80K + 2 years off?
For top-10 MBA, top law schools, CS/engineering master's, and most nursing master's — usually yes; the post-grad salary bump reliably clears the cost within 3-5 years. For general-purpose master's in arts, humanities, and many social sciences — often no; Georgetown CEW shows the median grad has a negative lifetime ROI once tuition + foregone earnings are subtracted. Employer-sponsored or PhD-funded (stipend) programs change the math dramatically. The Grad School ROI tool plugs your specific numbers and the lifetime delta tells you which side you're on.
Are these tools financial, tax, or legal advice?
No. They're planning estimates built on published formulas (2025 IRS brackets, HHS Federal Poverty Guidelines, BLS / Georgetown CEW / Course Report data) and are US-framed. IDR and PSLF rules are a moving target (SAVE is in litigation as of 2025) — verify your specific eligibility at studentaid.gov before acting. For real loan strategy, talk to a student-loan-savvy financial planner; for tax bomb planning, talk to a CPA.