Frequently Asked Questions

Where do the numbers come from?

The U.S. Department of Education: the College Scorecard for cost, admissions, graduation, debt and graduate earnings, and IPEDS for detailed institutional statistics. Nothing is our own estimate.

Are the graduate earnings a guarantee?

No. They describe a specific past cohort measured a set number of years after enrollment, through federal records. They're a strong signal of a program's track record, not a promise about any individual's future pay. Every figure is dated.

Why is the cost so much lower than what a college advertises?

We show net price — cost of attendance minus grants and scholarships — for aided students, which is usually well below the sticker price. The Scorecard also breaks it out by family income.

Why is data missing for some programs?

The Department suppresses figures for small programs to protect privacy or because the sample is too small to report reliably. We leave those blank instead of guessing.

Do you rank the 'best' colleges?

No. Any list here is sorted by one named official measure and says which one. We don't publish subjective 'best college' rankings.

More detail on sources is on the About the Data page.