Institution directory
2,123 active graduate-offering institutions selected from the NCES IPEDS 2024 directory. This is broad discovery coverage, not a cost database for every program.
NCES IPEDS source ↗AID MATCHER & METHODOLOGY
Know which doors to check.
A short screening guide for funding options. It flags likely avenues and missing information—it does not award aid, quote a private APR, or decide legal eligibility.
Your situation
Income and marital status alone do not establish a school grant. Graduate students are generally FAFSA-independent; a spouse’s information may still be required.
What is in the data
Every school figure carries a source and academic year. The directory and reviewed budgets answer different questions.
Program budgets
Source-reviewed school cost-of-attendance tables for selected 2026–27 MD, DDS, PA, and master's programs. PhD budgets and funding offers remain program-specific and are not manufactured.
Explore reviewed programs →Policy scenarios
Federal borrowing limits reflect the post–July 1, 2026 rules for new borrowers. The limited continuing-student exception and actual classification require financial-aid-office review.
Federal Student Aid rules ↗RESEARCH EXPORT
Study the policy carefully.
Download the reviewed program-year budgets and the national institution directory as CSV. These are school-offered costs, not observed student borrowing decisions. A causal study needs pre/post loan-origination data, enrollment/admission cohorts, and a comparison group.
Useful research variables
- Academic year, institution, program, residency, published COA components
- Federal loan eligibility and statutory limits by cohort
- Actual federal and private disbursements, if obtained from an authorized source
- Enrollment, persistence, graduation, and household context
Do not combine anonymous simulator inputs into a “student outcomes” dataset without informed consent and a privacy plan.