How College Scorecard Earnings Work
The earnings figures on College Receipt come from the U.S.
The earnings figures on College Receipt come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which matches graduates to federal tax records. Program earnings show the median pay of a program's graduates one year after completion, counting only graduates who are working and not enrolled in more school. College-level earnings are measured 6, 8, and 10 years after a student first enters the college, whether or not they finished there. Medians describe the middle graduate - half earn more, half earn less - and they describe a past cohort, not a promise about any one student's future pay.