Our data

AskSchool only publishes numbers we can trace to an official source. Every section of every school page names where its numbers came from. We don’t copy rankings or reviews from other websites.

Sources

• College Scorecard ↗
  U.S. Department of Education

  Acceptance rates, SAT/ACT ranges, cost and net price by family income, graduation and retention rates, earnings, debt, majors, student body.

• IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) ↗
  National Center for Education Statistics

  Applicant, admit and enrollment counts, admission factors (what’s required or considered), president, phone and official office links.

• NC School Report Cards ↗
  NC Department of Public Instruction

  School performance grades, graduation rates, SAT and ACT results, AP/IB results, enrollment, college-going rates, addresses and phone numbers.

The AskSchool Outcomes Index

Our Top 300 (220 universities and 80 liberal arts colleges) is built only from official numbers. Among nonprofit and public four-year colleges with at least 500 undergraduates, each school gets a percentile score on four measures, weighted like this:

• 35%: graduation rate (within 6 years)
• 25%: median earnings 10 years after starting college
• 20%: share of freshmen who come back for sophomore year
• 20%: selectivity (how many applicants are turned away)

No ranking can tell you which school is right for you. Use it as a starting point, then look at cost, majors and fit.

Good to know

• Government data runs one to two years behind. We show the year next to the number wherever it matters.
• Always confirm deadlines and requirements on the school’s own website before you apply.
• Spot a mistake? Tell us and we’ll check it against the source.