RoEDU™ (Return on Education)

The most important number in higher education

Education is one of the biggest financial decisions a person will ever make. RoEDU™ helps you understand what that decision is really worth.

RoEDU™ (Return on Education) measures the financial return of an educational path by comparing what it costs with what it’s likely to earn, so students can choose schools, majors, and paths with clarity instead of guesswork.

Education Is an Investment. We’ve Never Measured It That Way.

Every year, millions of students commit to colleges, majors, and locations that will shape their financial lives for decades.

Yet most decisions are made using:

  • Rankings
  • Reputation
  • Acceptance rates
  • Sticker price

What’s missing is the one thing that matters most:

Return.

Two students can pay the same tuition and experience dramatically different outcomes. RoEDU™ exists to make those differences visible before the decision is made.

What Is RoEDU™?

RoEDU™ (Return on Education) is a data-driven framework that estimates how your education decisions perform as an investment over time.

At its core, RoEDU™ answers a simple question:

If I invest in this education, what do I get back and how long does it take?

RoEDU™ goes beyond average salaries or tuition lists. It looks at the relationship between cost, earnings, and time, producing a single score you can compare across schools, majors, and paths.

Introducing the RoEDU™ Score

A number every student should know

Every educational path receives a RoEDU™ Score between 100 and 999.

The higher the score, the stronger the estimated return.

This score allows students to:

  • Compare schools on value, not just prestige
  • Compare majors within the same school
  • Evaluate tradeoffs between cost and earnings
  • Understand risk, payoff, and timeline

Just like a credit score or a Zestimate®, RoEDU™ is designed to be:

  • Easy to understand
  • Grounded in real data
  • Powerful as a comparison tool

How the RoEDU™ Score Is Calculated

RoEDU™ is built using multiple first- and third-party data sources to estimate both cost and outcome.

1. Education Cost

What you put in:

  • Tuition and required fees
  • Typical financial aid and discounts
  • Time to degree
  • Opportunity cost of time not working

2. Earnings Potential

What you get out:

  • Major-level earnings data
  • School-level outcome data
  • Career earnings growth over time
  • Regional labor market signals

3. Time & Risk

How long it takes and how certain it is:

  • Time to breakeven
  • Earnings volatility
  • Typical employment outcomes

These components are combined into a single RoEDU™ Score that reflects not just earnings, but efficiency, risk, and payoff.

Modifiers & Index Components

Why outcomes aren’t one-size-fits-all

Average outcomes hide real differences between students.

RoEDU™ uses modifiers and index components to reflect factors that materially change results, including:

  • Major competitiveness
  • School selectivity effects
  • Geographic labor markets
  • Typical student debt loads
  • Time-to-employment patterns

Today, these are applied using broad, data-backed assumptions. Over time, RoEDU™ will become increasingly personalized as students contribute more information.

Understanding the RoEDU™ Score Range

RoEDU™ Score Bands

900–999 | Exceptional Return Top-tier outcomes relative to cost. Fast breakeven and strong long-term earnings.

800–899 | Strong Return High earnings potential with efficient costs and solid outcomes.

700–799 | Above-Average Return Good value paths with reasonable cost-to-earnings balance.

600–699 | Moderate Return Acceptable outcomes, but longer breakeven or higher risk.

500–599 | Marginal Return Higher cost relative to earnings; outcomes vary widely.

Below 500 | High Risk Long breakeven timelines or outcomes that may struggle to justify cost.

RoEDU™ is an estimate, not a guarantee—but it’s far better than guessing.

What You Can Do With RoEDU™

RoEDU™ is designed to be something you can bounce decisions against.

With RoEDU™, you can:

  • Compare schools by value
  • Compare majors within the same school
  • Compare locations and labor markets
  • Evaluate alternative paths and tradeoffs

It turns complex data into a reference point you can use across your entire education journey.

Where RoEDU™ Comes to Life

Understanding RoEDU™ is only the beginning.

The real power of return comes from seeing how it changes across schools, majors, degree paths, and accelerants. Small differences can lead to dramatically different outcomes.

That’s where exploration begins.

Explore RoEDU™

Compare education choices using the same return framework, so every decision speaks the same language.

RoEDU™ Powers TuitionCovered

RoEDU™ isn’t a standalone feature, it’s the foundation of Tuition Covered.

You’ll see RoEDU™ embedded across:

  • School profiles
  • Major comparisons
  • Location and career insights
  • Planning and decision tools

It’s the lens through which we evaluate education.

The Future of RoEDU™

Today, RoEDU™ uses broad, population-level data to estimate outcomes.

In the future:

  • Students will contribute goals, background, and preferences
  • RoEDU™ will evolve into a personal education score
  • Outcomes will adjust as circumstances change

Every student deserves a clear view of the value of their education.

Education Shouldn’t Be a Leap of Faith

RoEDU™ brings transparency to one of the most important decisions of your life.

Because tuition is a cost.

Education is an investment.

And return matters.