FAFSA lower earnings list

New Jersey schools on the FAFSA “lower earnings” list

20 schools in New Jersey are flagged "lower earnings" in the Department of Education's March 2026 release, the list the 2027-28 FAFSA uses, out of 113 New Jersey schools with an earnings figure. The December 2025 release, which earlier news coverage reported, flagged 24: 9 came off and 5 were added.

A New Jersey school is flagged when its graduates’ median earnings four years after completing are below $36,709, the median for New Jersey high school graduates aged 25 to 34 (March 2026 release, January 2026 dollars). A school that mostly enrolls out-of-state students or operates in several states is compared with the national median, $34,635, instead.

Data period: March 2026 release, completers of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023. Nationally: 999 schools flagged now, 1,365 in December 2025. National report and method

Last verified: September 25, 2026.

Flagged in the March 2026 release (20)

Names as the Department lists them. A linked name opens the school’s CampusPin profile, which shows its earnings and benchmark.

  • Artistic Academy of Hair Design
  • Christine Valmy International School of Esthetics & Cosmetology
  • Cutting Edge Academy, new since December (had no figure)
  • Empire Beauty School-Bloomfield
  • Empire Beauty School-Cherry Hill
  • Empire Beauty School-Union
  • Garden State Science and Technology Institute, new since December (had no figure)
  • Innovate Salon Academy
  • Innovate Salon Academy
  • Innovate Salon Academy
  • MCVSD, new since December (was not flagged)
  • Mobile Technical Training, new since December (had no figure)
  • National Career Institute
  • New Community Career & Technical Institute, new since December (had no figure)
  • Parisian Beauty School
  • Rizzieri Aveda School for Beauty and Wellness
  • Robert Fiance Beauty Schools-North Plainfield
  • Robert Fiance Beauty Schools-West New York
  • Shore Beauty School
  • Total Image Beauty Academy

Flagged in December 2025, not now (9)

The reason is given for each. Because the benchmark and the graduating cohort changed too, coming off is not by itself evidence that graduates earn more.

  • American Institute-Cherry Hill, now above the benchmark
  • American Institute-Clifton, now above the benchmark
  • American Institute-Somerset, now above the benchmark
  • American Institute-Toms River, now above the benchmark
  • ASI Career Institute, now above the benchmark
  • Center for the Healing Arts, no earnings figure now
  • Healthcare Training Institute, now above the benchmark
  • P B Cosmetology Education Center, now above the benchmark
  • Union County Vocational Technical School, now above the benchmark

What the notice does and does not mean

  • It is informational: it does not affect federal aid eligibility, and a flagged school can still be listed and attended.
  • It describes a whole school, not a program. The Department says earnings differ by credential and field.
  • It covers graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled when earnings were measured.
  • A school with no earnings figure shows no notice. That is an absence of data, not a pass.
Add the New Jersey FAFSA notice card to your website (counselors, college-access programs, schools)

Plain HTML with no script and no tracking: the state's flagged count, the previous release and the benchmark, with the notice's caveats and the source, linking back to this page and its full list of schools.

Questions about New Jersey

How many New Jersey schools are on the FAFSA lower earnings list?
20 schools in New Jersey are flagged "lower earnings" in the Department of Education's March 2026 release, the list the 2027-28 FAFSA uses, out of 113 New Jersey schools with an earnings figure. The December 2025 release, which earlier news coverage reported, flagged 24: 9 came off and 5 were added. Every one is named on this page.
Why did 9 schools in New Jersey come off the list?
Of the 9 schools flagged in December 2025 and not now, 8 now clear the benchmark, 1 no longer have an earnings figure. The Department replaced the data on 22 March 2026 with a newer group of graduates (completers of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023) and a re-estimated high school benchmark, so coming off the list is not by itself evidence that a school's graduates earn more.
What earnings benchmark are New Jersey schools compared with?
$36,709: the median earnings of New Jersey high school graduates aged 25 to 34 in the March 2026 release, in January 2026 dollars. The December 2025 release used $37,106, in June 2025 dollars and from an earlier survey, so the two are not a like-for-like comparison. A school that mostly enrolls out-of-state students or operates in several states is compared with the national median instead, $34,635.
Does the lower earnings notice affect financial aid?
No. The Department says the notice is informational only. It does not affect eligibility for federal aid, the Student Aid Index or how the FAFSA is processed, and students can still list and attend a flagged school. It is shown only to first-year undergraduates.

More on New Jersey colleges

Other states

Sources, methodology & citation

Data snapshot: March 22, 2026. Last verified: September 25, 2026.

Sources used across this page

Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.

Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.

Methodology Data dictionary Report a correction

Suggested citation

CampusPin. (2026). New Jersey schools on the FAFSA "lower earnings" list. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/research/fafsa-lower-earnings-colleges/new-jersey