How to read the College Scorecard: a guide for international students

The College Scorecard is the US Department of Education's official database of colleges. It covers institutions that take part in federal student aid, which includes almost every US university you are likely to apply to. The university profiles on this site are built from it, so here is what each number means, and what it doesn't.

Where the numbers come from

Most Scorecard numbers come from IPEDS, the survey every such institution must complete for the National Center for Education Statistics. Earnings come from US Treasury tax records. The release used on this site was published on November 2, 2026. Different numbers cover different years:

Measure	What it is	Year covered (Nov. 2026 release)
Admission rate	Admitted ÷ applied, for first-time undergraduates	Fall 2024
SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentiles	Middle 50% of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores	Fall 2024
Size	Undergraduate degree-seeking enrollment	Fall 2024
Tuition and fees	Published in-state and out-of-state tuition and fees	2025-26
Average net price	Cost of attendance minus average grants, for students receiving federal (Title IV) aid	2024-25
Graduation rate	Full-time, first-time students who finished within 150% of normal time (6 years for a bachelor's)	Students who started in Fall 2019
Retention rate	Full-time, first-time students still enrolled one year later	Fall 2023 starters
Median earnings (10 years)	Median earnings of former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after entry	Measured in 2022-2023, in 2024 dollars

How to read each one, as an international student

Admission rate

• It includes all applicants together. The Scorecard does not show a separate rate for international students.
• At public universities, rates can differ a lot between in-state and other applicants.

SAT ranges

• These are scores of students who submitted them. At test-optional schools the true range for all students may be lower.
• Read Reading and Writing and Math separately. Each runs from 200 to 800.

Tuition

• At public universities, international students usually pay the out-of-state rate, but check each school's page.
• Tuition is not the whole cost. Housing, food, insurance and books add a lot.

Average net price: the most misread number

• It is calculated only for students receiving US federal aid, who are mostly US residents.
• It is not what an international student pays. To estimate your own cost, use the school's net price calculator (linked on the university profiles on this site) and read the school's international aid policy.

Graduation and retention rates

• These are good signals of how well a school supports students. A high retention rate means most first-year students come back for a second year.

Median earnings

• These reflect former students who received federal aid, tracked through US tax records.
• They depend heavily on the mix of majors, and they say nothing about earnings outside the US. Use them for comparison, not as a promise.

Other useful fields

• Control: public, private nonprofit or private for-profit.
• Locale: for example "City: Large" or "Town: Remote", from the National Center for Education Statistics.
• Programs: the fields of study (CIP codes) and degree levels each school reported awarding. In the current release these cover the 2022-23 and 2023-24 award years.
• Test policy: what each school told IPEDS for Fall 2024 (required, considered if submitted, or not considered). Policies change, so the profiles on this site use the school's own website where we verified it.

A quick checklist

1. Check the year of every number. Admission data is at least one cycle old.
2. Compare like with like, for example public with public or schools of similar size.
3. For cost, ignore "average net price" and use the net price calculator plus the international aid policy.
4. Confirm test policies and deadlines on the official admissions page before you apply.

When you know your target schools, the UCSAT app helps you prepare for the SAT score they expect.