Many students starting college this fall could leave with about $43,000 in debt as tuition keeps rising. New federal loan rules may make repayment tougher and push more families toward private loans.

Programs that routinely fail to provide students with a positive ROI—or return on investment—would lose access to federal student loans and, in certain cases, Pell Grants, according to the Department of Education.

College students who work while in school are more than twice as likely to land a job after graduation, a ZipRecruiter survey found. Work experience also helps graduates secure jobs more quickly in a competitive market.

Rising tuition and uncertainty about AI’s impact on entry-level jobs are making it harder for families to judge the value of a college degree.