The White House Plans To Rate Your College — Here’s What You Need To Know

“A year ago, the Obama administration released a plan to make college more affordable. One of the most controversial elements: develop a federal college rating system and then convince Congress to tie money for student aid directly to a school’s score,” PBS NewsHour reports.

“According to the plan, the ratings would be published sometime before the 2015-2016 school year. A first draft is scheduled for release this fall.

In the year since the White House announcement, college leaders across the country have questioned whether federal ratings will hurt schools, and students and lawmakers have introduced legislation to stop the system’s creation. Meanwhile, advocates have argued that the rankings will provide students with much-needed insight into which schools are worth the rising cost of tuition.

Here’s what students and families should watch for when the ratings proposal is released this fall. …

What does this mean for my financial aid?

For now, not much. The Obama plan calls for unveiling a first draft of the rating system this fall and releasing the first official numbers before the 2015-16 school year. After that, the White House has proposed decreasing the amount of federal aid available to students enrolled at lower-rated schools by 2018. Plus, changing the rules for disbursing federal funds would have to be done by Congress. And we are coming to the end of what some argue has been the least productive Congress in history.”