How we make Dreamschool
By Dreamschool Research
Dreamschool is built on public data. We don't invent numbers: every figure on a college page comes from a source listed on that page, and every change we make to the source data is recorded below.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (Most Recent Institution-Level Data), released 2026-10-15. Combines federal IPEDS surveys, student aid records, and Treasury earnings data.
- IPEDS Admissions survey (ADM2023): applicant counts and the admission factors colleges report.
We cover 6,195 currently operating institutions. 2,626 have enough data for a full profile; the rest have pages but aren't promoted in search.
How we clean the data
Government data contains reporting errors. When a value is implausible we either remove it or flag it, and we log each decision so it can be checked and reversed. Affected college pages show a "Data notes" section.
Zero admission rates
A 0% admission rate is not plausible for an operating college; treated as a reporting error.
3 values nullified
Reversed SAT Reading & Writing ranges
The 25th percentile is above the 75th percentile; treated as a reporting error.
0 values nullified
Reversed SAT Math ranges
The 25th percentile is above the 75th percentile; treated as a reporting error.
0 values nullified
Reversed ACT ranges
The 25th percentile is above the 75th percentile; treated as a reporting error.
0 values nullified
Tiny applicant counts
Fewer than 25 applicants usually means the college admits few first-year undergraduates; the counts are too small to be meaningful.
640 values nullified
Small applicant pools
Fewer than 500 applicants (or no applicant count), so the admission rate says little about selectivity. We do not label these colleges as selective.
518 values flagged
Large swings in admission rate
The admission rate moved more than 25 percentage points from the prior year’s IPEDS counts; check with the college.
87 values flagged
Negative net prices
Average grant aid exceeded the cost of attendance, so the reported net price is negative.
0 values flagged
Every field we publish
Different fields cover different years; each college page labels the year next to the number.
| Field | Source | Data year |
|---|---|---|
| City | College Scorecard CITY | AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| State | College Scorecard STABBR | AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Control | College Scorecard CONTROL | AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Predominant degree awarded | College Scorecard PREDDEG | AY2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Locale | College Scorecard LOCALE | AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Main campus | College Scorecard MAIN | AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Historically Black college or university | College Scorecard HBCU | AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Women's college | College Scorecard WOMENONLY | College Navigator CY2026 |
| Men's college | College Scorecard MENONLY | College Navigator CY2026 |
| Online only | College Scorecard DISTANCEONLY | AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Admission rate | College Scorecard ADM_RATE | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| Admission test policy | College Scorecard ADMCON7 | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| SAT Reading & Writing, 25th percentile | College Scorecard SATVR25 | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| SAT Reading & Writing, 75th percentile | College Scorecard SATVR75 | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| SAT Math, 25th percentile | College Scorecard SATMT25 | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| SAT Math, 75th percentile | College Scorecard SATMT75 | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| Average SAT (admitted) | College Scorecard SAT_AVG | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| ACT composite, 25th percentile | College Scorecard ACTCM25 | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| ACT composite, 75th percentile | College Scorecard ACTCM75 | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| Applicants | IPEDS Admissions APPLCN | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Admitted | IPEDS Admissions ADMSSN | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Enrolled (first-year) | IPEDS Admissions ENRLT | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Yield (admitted students who enrolled) | Calculated enrolled / admitted | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Enrolled students submitting SAT | IPEDS Admissions SATPCT | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Enrolled students submitting ACT | IPEDS Admissions ACTPCT | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Admission factor: High school GPA | IPEDS Admissions ADMCON1 | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Admission factor: High school class rank | IPEDS Admissions ADMCON2 | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Admission factor: High school record | IPEDS Admissions ADMCON3 | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Admission factor: College-prep program | IPEDS Admissions ADMCON4 | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Admission factor: Recommendations | IPEDS Admissions ADMCON5 | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Admission factor: Demonstration of competencies | IPEDS Admissions ADMCON6 | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Admission factor: Admission test scores | IPEDS Admissions ADMCON7 | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Admission factor: English proficiency test | IPEDS Admissions ADMCON8 | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Admission factor: Work experience | IPEDS Admissions ADMCON10 | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Admission factor: Personal statement or essay | IPEDS Admissions ADMCON11 | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Admission factor: Legacy status | IPEDS Admissions ADMCON12 | Fall 2023, reported in IPEDS ADM2023 |
| Cost of attendance | College Scorecard COSTT4_A | AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| In-state tuition and fees | College Scorecard TUITIONFEE_IN | AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Out-of-state tuition and fees | College Scorecard TUITIONFEE_OUT | AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Average net price | College Scorecard NPT4_PUB|NPT4_PRIV | AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Net price, family income $0–30k | College Scorecard NPT41_PUB|NPT41_PRIV | AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Net price, family income $30–48k | College Scorecard NPT42_PUB|NPT42_PRIV | AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Net price, family income $48–75k | College Scorecard NPT43_PUB|NPT43_PRIV | AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Net price, family income $75–110k | College Scorecard NPT44_PUB|NPT44_PRIV | AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Net price, family income $110k+ | College Scorecard NPT45_PUB|NPT45_PRIV | AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Undergraduates | College Scorecard UGDS | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| Student–faculty ratio | College Scorecard STUFACR | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| Undergraduates receiving Pell grants | College Scorecard PCTPELL | AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| Undergraduates: White | College Scorecard UGDS_WHITE | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| Undergraduates: Black | College Scorecard UGDS_BLACK | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| Undergraduates: Hispanic | College Scorecard UGDS_HISP | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| Undergraduates: Asian | College Scorecard UGDS_ASIAN | Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| Graduation rate (150% of normal time) | College Scorecard C150_4|C150_L4 | Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26 |
| First-year retention (full-time) | College Scorecard RET_FT4 | Fall 2023 bachelor's-seeking cohort, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 |
| Median earnings 10 years after entry | College Scorecard MD_EARN_WNE_P10 | Treasury AY2011-12, AY2012-13 pooled cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars |
| Median debt at graduation | College Scorecard GRAD_DEBT_MDN | NSLDS FY2024, FY2025 pooled cohorts |
What the main numbers mean
- Admission rate: admitted applicants divided by total applicants for first-time undergraduates.
- Test score ranges: the 25th to 75th percentile of admitted students who submitted scores.
- Net price: the average yearly cost after grants and scholarships for first-time, full-time students receiving federal aid.
- Graduation rate: share of full-time students who finish within 150% of normal time.
- Median earnings: median earnings of former students who received federal aid, ten years after they enrolled.
- Yield: share of admitted students who enrolled.