Our methodology starts with the local university_rates MySQL database, which is built from College Scorecard and IPEDS-derived fields. The goal is to compare college tuition, fees, net price, financial aid and student outcomes with clear labels and no invented values.
Because federal education data is reported at different times and with different suppression rules, not every school has every metric. That is why a school may have tuition but not room and board, aid data but no calculator URL, or net price but no selective admissions rate. Missing values are explained in context instead of being treated as rankings or quality judgments.
Database Tables Used
school_costs: tuition, in-state and out-of-state tuition, attendance cost, average net price, income-level net price, room and board, books and other expense fields where reported.school_aids: Pell Grant rate, federal loan rate and other aid signals used to explain how grants and borrowing relate to net price.school_locations: official website, net price calculator URL, address, latitude/longitude, accreditor and ownership context where available.school_admissions: acceptance rate and test-score context used as supporting information, not as the primary site focus.school_students,school_completionsandschool_earnings: enrollment, completion and earnings data used for student outcome context.
Verification Rules
- Cost and aid values are displayed only when the source field exists in the local database.
- Missing tuition, fee, aid, room and board or calculator fields are not estimated from peer schools.
- School pages link to official school resources when available so readers can verify current year figures.
- Rankings, deadlines, phone numbers, FAFSA school codes and scholarship offers are not invented.
- Acceptance rate and outcomes are supporting fields; tuition, cost, aid and net price remain the primary page focus.
Update Schedule and Verification
Data is sourced from the College Scorecard annual release, typically published in October each year. The current dataset reflects the 2026 local import available on tuitiondata.org. Readers should always verify current tuition, admissions, aid and program details directly with the institution before applying or enrolling.
How Missing Data Is Handled
If a value is missing, the public page explains that the value is not reported in the relevant federal field. A missing tuition component, net price by income bracket, room and board value or net price calculator URL does not mean the school has no cost; it means that specific field was not available in the local source data. Broad-access or open-enrollment institutions may not report a selective admissions rate, and some outcomes can be suppressed or unavailable.
Data Coverage Summary
| Metric | Schools with data | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Total schools | 6,321 | All institutions in the local database. |
| Acceptance rate | 1,932 | Admissions selectivity where reported. |
| Tuition | 3,686 | Published tuition fields where available. |
| Net price | 5,064 | Average cost after grants and scholarships. |
| Earnings outcomes | 5,183 | Outcome data used for long-term value context. |
Definitions of the Main Data Pillars
Tuition
Tuition is the published instructional charge reported by the school or federal dataset. It is different from the broader cost of attendance and does not include every aid adjustment.
Net Price
Net price estimates average cost after grants and scholarships. It is often more useful than sticker price when families compare affordability.
Financial Aid
Aid fields include Pell Grant rate, federal loan rate and related affordability signals where reported. Grants can lower net price, while loans usually finance a cost rather than reduce it.
Acceptance Rate
Acceptance rate is generally admitted applicants divided by total applicants. It is a selectivity signal, not a guarantee of admission or a ranking of school quality.
Student Outcomes
Student outcomes can include completion rates, 10-year median earnings, enrollment context and repayment-related fields. These values should be compared across similar school types and verified with official school sources.
For full definitions of every metric used on this site, see our Glossary.