Data Methodology
Primary Data Source
All data on PlainCollege comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard - a federal dataset updated several times per year (institutional/IPEDS-derived metrics and field-of-study earnings metrics are sometimes refreshed on separate schedules) that tracks institutional characteristics, costs, admissions, demographics, and post-graduation earnings for Title IV institutions. Institutional directory data comes from IPEDS, and earnings are derived from U.S. Treasury tax records.
Data Vintage
The College Scorecard is updated several times per year by the Department of Education, with institutional data and field-of-study earnings data sometimes refreshed on different schedules. Earnings data reflects outcomes for cohorts who enrolled several years prior, meaning the most recent earnings figures may reflect students who started 6–10 years before the publication date. Field-level measurement years are documented in the Department of Education's official data dictionary rather than shown per-figure on this site.
Processing Pipeline
- We download the full College Scorecard dataset from the Department of Education's open data portal.
- Records are filtered to institutions that participate in federal Title IV financial aid programs and carry a valid federal school ID.
- Key fields are normalized: tuition values to annual figures, earnings to median values, and completion rates to percentage format.
- Program-level earnings (field-of-study data) are matched to the correct institution using each school's federal ID.
- When a program or cohort is too small (fewer than 30 students) for the government to report a reliable figure, we leave that field blank rather than estimate a value. This preserves the statistical integrity of the data at the cost of completeness, smaller programs at smaller schools frequently have missing earnings data due to this suppression threshold.
- The processed data powers every institution profile, state page, program ranking, and comparison tool on PlainCollege, and is refreshed whenever the Department of Education publishes a new release.
Coverage
- Institutions: 6,000+ Title IV-participating colleges and universities
- Programs: 2,200+ fields of study with earnings data at the school level
- Geographies: All 50 states, DC, and U.S. territories
- Institution types: Public, private nonprofit, private for-profit
Earnings Data Limitations
- Earnings figures represent median earnings of former students who received federal financial aid. Students who did not receive aid are excluded, which may affect results at selective schools with fewer aid recipients.
- Program-level earnings data is suppressed when fewer than 30 students are in a cohort, per federal privacy rules.
- Earnings are measured at 6 and 10 years after enrollment, not after graduation. Students who took longer to complete or did not complete are included.
- Earnings vary by geography, occupation, and individual circumstances, school-level medians are group statistics, not guarantees.
How the Source Agency Collects Data
The College Scorecard draws from multiple federal data systems. Institutional characteristics and cost data come from IPEDS, which collects annual mandatory surveys from all Title IV institutions. Earnings data is derived from tax records maintained by the IRS and Treasury Department, linked to students who received federal financial aid. Completion rates are computed from cohort tracking in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). All data linkages are performed by the Department of Education using de-identified records to protect student privacy.
The Department of Education suppresses data for programs and institutions with fewer than 30 students in a cohort to prevent potential identification of individuals. This suppression threshold means that smaller programs at smaller schools frequently have missing earnings data.
College Value Score Methodology
The College Value Score shown on every school profile is a composite of six metrics, each converted to a 0-100 percentile score against every operating, reporting US college in our database, then combined into a single weighted score and letter grade. It is a cost/earnings/completion composite, not a measure of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student.
| Metric | Weight | Direction | p10 · p25 · p50 · p75 · p90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-year median earnings | 25% | Higher is better | $24,421 · $32,172 · $40,796 · $52,581 · $65,986 |
| Average net price | 20% | Lower is better | $6,166 · $10,775 · $17,145 · $23,836 · $30,434 |
| 6-year completion rate | 20% | Higher is better | 29.8% · 42.2% · 62.1% · 76.4% · 86.6% |
| Median federal debt | 15% | Lower is better | $7,000 · $9,500 · $13,271 · $22,309 · $26,000 |
| 3-year loan repayment rate | 10% | Higher is better | 34.5% · 45.0% · 58.3% · 72.4% · 82.5% |
| First-year retention rate | 10% | Higher is better | 54.6% · 66.7% · 75.9% · 84.7% · 93.7% |
Benchmarks were computed 2026-07-12 directly from every operating school in our database with a non-null, positive value for that metric (sample sizes range from 2,038 to 5,103 schools depending on the metric), then linearly interpolated between percentile breakpoints to score any individual value 0-100. When a school is missing one or more metrics, that dimension is marked N/A and its weight is redistributed proportionally across the metrics that ARE reported, so a data gap never silently deflates a school's score. A school missing all six metrics shows no score rather than a fabricated zero.
Data Accuracy Commitment
PlainCollege presents Department of Education data without modification. Earnings figures, completion rates, and cost data are displayed exactly as published in the Scorecard dataset. Where values are suppressed by the source, we display them as unavailable rather than estimating. If you find any data that appears incorrect, please contact us and we will verify against the source dataset.
Not Affiliated
PlainCollege is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education, the College Scorecard program, or any educational institution. We are an independent data portal presenting public government data in an accessible format.