Methodology

Data source

The data comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard: the “Most Recent Cohorts” institution-level file and the “Most Recent Cohorts” field-of-study file, release of June 10, 2026 (data version 3.6.1). The Scorecard combines data that colleges report through IPEDS, federal student aid records and earnings drawn from tax records.

The Scorecard is published as open government data. We credit the Department of Education as the source, show the data period for each figure and do not imply any endorsement.

• Scorecard data documentation and data dictionary
• Scorecard data files

We never edit values by hand. Before each release every value on every college page is checked against the raw Scorecard file, and a value that is blank in the source cannot appear on the site.

Which colleges are included

We include a school only if it passes every filter below. The table shows how many institutions remain after each step.

• It is currently operating (CURROPER = 1) and participates in federal student aid (OPEFLAG 1, 2 or 3).
• Its predominant degree is associate or bachelor's (PREDDEG 2 or 3) and its highest degree is at least associate (HIGHDEG 2 or more).
• It is classified as 4-year or 2-year (ICLEVEL 1 or 2) and is located in one of the 50 states or Washington, D.C.
• It reports a cost figure (net price or cost of attendance) and at least one of: an admission rate, open admission or earnings data. This keeps every page substantive.

How each metric is calculated

Each formula is implemented once, in code shared by our data build, our data validator and the site, so the numbers you see are the numbers we tested. Amounts are in U.S. dollars. Calculated values are rounded as stated below.

Peer groups and similar colleges

Peer comparisons (for example, “cheaper than 72% of public four-year colleges”) use groups defined by level (4-year or 2-year) and control (public, private nonprofit or private for-profit), counting only the colleges on this site.

The six similar colleges on each profile are chosen by distance in net price (or cost of attendance when net price is missing), earnings and enrollment size: four from the same state and two from other states, all of the same level and control, and, for the out-of-state picks, the same Carnegie classification when known.

Data periods

Each Scorecard variable covers its own period. The Department publishes that period in its data dictionary (the “Most Recent Cohorts” map). The table lists the variables used on this site with the Department's own wording, and each page shows the period beside the figure it describes.

Mixed periods are normal: costs describe a recent academic year, while earnings follow students who completed their studies several years ago.

Extended profile data

Each college page can also show five groups of Scorecard data beyond the headline numbers: who attends, the fields students study, outcomes by student group, how borrowers are doing in repayment, and richer program tables. We show a block only when the college has published all of its numbers.

• Who attends: shares of degree-seeking undergraduates by race and ethnicity and by gender (Fall 2024), and the share aged 25 or older (Fall 2023), as published by IPEDS. Race and gender shares must add to roughly 100% or we hide the block.
• What students study: the largest two-digit CIP families by share of degrees and certificates awarded in academic year 2024-25 (up to eight, each at least 1%), named with the CIP 2020 series titles.
• Completion by group: the share completing within 150% of normal time for White, Black, Hispanic and Asian students and Pell Grant recipients, for one entering cohort. We show a group only when the Scorecard reports it; the overall rate beside it pools several cohorts.
• Earnings ten years after entry: median and 25th to 75th percentile earnings of all students who entered the college, graduates or not, in 2022 dollars. This is a different measure from earnings four years after completing (graduates only, 2024 dollars), and we never put the two in one comparison or chart. We hide the block unless the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile are in order.
• Debt by group: median federal loan debt for Pell and non-Pell students, first-generation and other students, three family-income bands, and men and women. Pairs are shown only when both values exist.
• Repayment status: the share of federal-loan borrowers in each of eight statuses one year after entering repayment (AY2018-19 and AY2019-20 cohorts pooled). Shown only for colleges with at least 30 borrowers whose eight shares add to about 100%.

Our inconsistent-data policy: we drop a block when its numbers do not add up, for example shares that total far from 100%, or a 25th percentile above the median. We would rather show nothing than something that contradicts itself. Small groups the Scorecard suppresses for privacy never appear. For program rows, the sample size is the number of graduates behind the earnings figure; rows with fewer than 30 are marked “small sample” because the Scorecard adds privacy noise to program figures.

Nominal and inflation-adjusted dollars

Dollar figures are not all in the same year's dollars, and we do not convert them ourselves.

• Cost figures (net price, tuition and fees, cost of attendance, room and board) and debt are nominal: dollars of the year reported, not adjusted for inflation.
• Earnings 4 years after completing are adjusted by the Department to 2024 dollars; earnings 1 year after completing are in 2022 dollars.
• The state high-school graduate earnings figure is in 2024 dollars.

Calculations combine only figures that are comparable: the payback period divides a net cost by the difference between two 2024-dollar earnings figures.

Missing and suppressed data

We never fill in, estimate or impute a missing value.

• PS (privacy suppressed): the Department withholds the figure because the group is too small. We show “Not shown: group too small (privacy)” where the value would be.
• NA, NULL or blank: not reported or not applicable. We show “Not reported”, or hide the whole section when nothing is available.
• Where the Scorecard publishes a small-group-suppressed series (columns ending in _SUPP), we use it for admission rate, graduation rate, retention, debt and monthly payment. We fall back to the unsuppressed series only when the suppressed one is NA, never when it is PS.
• Negative dollar amounts and rates outside 0–100% are treated as missing.
• Schools with open admission have no admission rate; we show “open admission” instead.

Branch campuses

The Department reports earnings, debt and some other outcomes for the whole institution, identified by its 6-digit federal ID (OPEID6). Branch campuses that share that ID show the same figures as the main campus, and their pages carry a note saying so. Read those numbers as describing the institution, not the individual campus.

Program (field-of-study) outcomes are also reported at the OPEID6 level.

Limitations

• Statistics describe groups of past students. Your own cost, earnings and debt will depend on your major, aid, location and choices.
• Each Scorecard measure covers specific groups of students (for example, federal aid recipients or first-time, full-time students) and may not represent every student. The Scorecard documentation defines the group for each variable.
• Earnings are medians for graduates who are working and not enrolled. They exclude people who are not working or are in further study.
• Cost figures reflect a past academic year. Current prices may be higher.
• Total net cost assumes on-time completion; many students take longer.
• Nothing here ranks quality or guarantees a return on investment.

Update schedule

The Department of Education updates the Scorecard several times a year. TuitionScope is a snapshot: we rebuild the site when we adopt a new release, and every page states the release it uses. Today that is the June 2026 release (version 3.6.1). Figures do not change between releases.

For each release we download the raw files, record their checksums, rebuild all data, re-run validation and review what changed (added and removed schools and the largest value changes) before publishing.

Corrections policy

We correct mistakes in our own calculations, labels and translations as soon as we confirm them. Email info@tuitionscope.com with the page address and the figure in question; we compare it with the raw Scorecard file and reply.

If the error is in the Scorecard data itself, the school must correct its federal reporting, and the fix appears in a later release. See contact for details.

If we ever make a material correction to a published figure or formula, we will list it on this page with the date.