Data Sources

The College Scorecard is the federal government's primary tool for comparing colleges. It provides institution-level data drawn from federal financial aid records, tax data, and institutional reporting.

What it provides:

• Institution profiles (name, location, type, size)
• Tuition and fees (in-state and out-of-state)
• Admission rates and SAT/ACT scores
• Graduation and retention rates
• Median earnings of graduates (from IRS tax records)
• Federal student loan debt levels

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The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is the core postsecondary data collection program for NCES. All institutions that participate in federal student financial aid programs are required to report to IPEDS.

What it provides:

• Program-level data (fields of study by CIP code)
• Credential levels (certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral)
• Program-specific earnings and debt outcomes
• Enrollment counts by program
• Institutional characteristics and financial data

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Data Freshness & Limitations

• Reporting lag: Federal education data typically has a 1–2 year reporting lag. Earnings data reflects outcomes several years after graduation.
• Coverage: Only Title IV-eligible institutions (those participating in federal financial aid) are included. Some smaller or specialized schools may not appear.
• Suppressed data: To protect student privacy, the Department of Education suppresses data for programs with very few graduates. You may see "N/A" for some metrics.
• Earnings methodology: Median earnings figures come from IRS tax records and reflect all graduates, including those who work part-time or in unrelated fields.
• Updates: We refresh our data when new annual releases become available from College Scorecard and IPEDS, typically once per year.