Methodology
Every grade on College Compass Guide is computed by a published formula from the U.S. Department of Education’s own data. This page publishes the formula (version 2.3, Oct. 20, 2026) and the rules behind it.
Principles
- Official data only. Every number comes from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and the College Scorecard), with its source and date.
- Published formulas. The measures, weights and scales are on this page. No one types a grade by hand.
- Never guess. When the federal data doesn’t cover enough of a measure, the grade is “Not enough information.”
- No reputation surveys. We do not use magazine rankings, reputation surveys or alumni giving.
- Independent. No ads, no paid placements, no money from the colleges we rate.
The Compass Score
One score built the way the best-known college rankings weigh things: outcomes (graduation, retention and earnings), the entering students (test scores and selectivity), cost (debt and price after aid) and teaching (class size), all from federal data. It is shown from 0 to 100, and its letter is set by rank among all rated colleges.
| Part | Weight | Full points | No points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduation rate (six years) | 25% | 90% | 40% |
| First-year retention | 10% | 95% | 60% |
| Earnings ten years after entry | 5% | $110,000 | $30,000 |
| Entering students’ SAT or ACT | 20% | SAT 1450 | SAT 900 |
| Admission rate (selectivity) | 20% | 15% | 80% |
| Median federal debt at graduation | 10% | $5,000 | $35,000 |
| Net price after aid | 5% | $5,000 | $45,000 |
| Students per faculty member | 5% | 4 | 25 |
- Each part earns points on a straight-line scale between its two marks (earnings and admission rate on a logarithmic scale), so a college’s score never moves because another college changed.
- The weights follow the measures the best-known college rankings weigh most: whether students graduate and come back, and how strong and sought-after the entering class is. Cost and debt count too, so a college that leaves families with less debt does better.
- The weighted points give an index from 0 to 100. The index is shown only once, in each college page’s “How this score is built” box, labeled Index. The grade is not the index: it comes from the college’s rank among rated colleges.
- A college needs a graduation rate and parts carrying at least 60% of the weight. Specialized schools (such as music conservatories and medical schools) get a grade and their own page, but are left out of the overall rankings and the Honor Roll, as other college rankings do.
- Academic Excellence and Value are shown on every college page as separate grades, so you can weigh them yourself.
Grades and badges
- Letters on a curve. A college’s letter is its rank among all rated colleges: A+ is the top 3%, A the top 10%, A− the top 20%, B+ the top 35%, B the top 55%, B− the top 75%, and C+ the rest. A letter shows where a college stands among all U.S. four-year colleges we can rate. No college gets a D or an F. The tier words run Exceptional (A+ and A), Excellent (A−), Very good (B+), Good (B and B−) and Solid (C+). The Value score uses the same curve.
- Compass Recommended: the top 35% of rated colleges (grades A+ to B+).
- Honor Roll: the top 10% of rated colleges (grades A+ and A).
- Best fact first. Each card leads with the most favorable true fact about the college: its rank in its state (when the state has 8 or more rated colleges), a top-quarter figure for earnings, graduation, debt or net price, or its letter.
- The thresholds apply to every college alike. Any change to the formula applies to every college at once and is listed in the change log.
Academic Excellence
A mechanical score from federal data, the same for every school. It measures whether students finish, whether they come back after the first year, how prepared entering students are, and how much teaching attention and investment each student receives. It never uses magazine rankings, reputation surveys, or a school's own marketing.
Four-year colleges with at least 100 undergraduates (seminaries and graduate-only schools are not rated). Fixed published scales, not curves: a school's score does not move because another school changed.
| Measure | Weight | 0 points at | 100 points at | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graduation rate Share of full-time, first-time students who finish within six years (150% of normal time). Finishing is the first sign that a college teaches and supports its students. | 35% of scoreThis measure counts for 35% of the Academic Excellence score. | 5% | 85% | College Scorecard (C150_4), from IPEDS Graduation Rates |
| First-year retention Share of full-time freshmen who return for a second year. | 20% of scoreThis measure counts for 20% of the Academic Excellence score. | 35% | 95% | College Scorecard (RET_FT4), from IPEDS Fall Enrollment |
| Entering students' test scores SAT or ACT middle score of admitted students who submitted scores (whichever earns more points). Test-optional and test-free schools that report no scores are scored on the other measures. | 15% of scoreThis measure counts for 15% of the Academic Excellence score. | SAT 800 or ACT 15 | SAT 1450 or ACT 32 | College Scorecard (SAT_AVG, SATVR/SATMT 25th-75th, ACTCM 25th-75th), from IPEDS Admissions |
| Student-to-faculty ratio Students per instructional faculty member. Fewer students per teacher means more personal instruction. | 15% of scoreThis measure counts for 15% of the Academic Excellence score. | 28 students per teacher | 8 students per teacher | College Scorecard (STUFACR), from IPEDS |
| Instructional spending per student Dollars spent on instruction per full-time-equivalent student (a logarithmic scale, so each doubling counts the same). | 15% of scoreThis measure counts for 15% of the Academic Excellence score. | $2,500 | $30,000 | College Scorecard (INEXPFTE), from IPEDS Finance |
- Each measure earns points on a straight-line scale between its two anchors (instructional spending uses a logarithmic scale), capped at 0 and 100. The index is the weighted average over the measures the college reports.
- Academic Excellence is shown as a letter on the same curve as the Compass Score: a college’s letter is its rank among all rated colleges, so no college gets a D or an F.
- A college is scored only when its reported measures carry at least 60% of the weight and include the graduation rate. Otherwise it is “Not enough information.”
- Admission rate is not used, because a low admission rate measures demand rather than teaching.
- Federal figures lag by one to two years and cover only some students (for example, graduation rates follow first-time, full-time students).
Value
The Value index (not shown on its own; the Value grade comes from its rank) measures what a college costs and what it pays back, on fixed published scales, so a college’s Value never moves because another college changed. Net price (what students receiving federal aid pay after grants and scholarships) counts 40%: $10,000 or less earns full points and $40,000 or more earns none. Median earnings ten years after entry count 35%: $30,000 earns none and $75,000 or more earns full points (on a logarithmic scale, so each step up counts the same). Median federal debt at graduation counts 25%: $10,000 or less earns full points and $35,000 or more earns none. A college needs all three figures. Graduation is not counted here because Academic Excellence already counts it. The college page’s Cost and value panel shows every figure with its source.
Change log
- Version 2.3 (Oct. 20, 2026): The Compass Score is shown on a 0 to 100 scale (no 40 floor). Its full-credit levels are reachable: graduation 90%, retention 95%, average test scores 1450, selectivity 15% (log scale). Letters are set on a curve by rank among all rated colleges: A+ top 3%, A to 10%, A- to 20%, B+ to 35%, B to 55%, B- to 75%, C+ for the rest; never D or F. Honor Roll is the top 10% (A+ and A); Compass Recommended the top 35%. The Value score uses the same curve. Each college card leads with its best true fact (state rank, a top quarter figure, or its letter).
- Version 2.2 (Oct. 20, 2026): The Compass Score now weighs outcomes 40%, entering students 40%, cost 15% and teaching 5%, closer to how the best-known college rankings order colleges, and is shown from 40 to 100. Specialized schools are left out of the overall rankings.
- Version 2.1 (Oct. 19, 2026): Value now measures money only, on fixed published scales: net price after aid (40%), earnings ten years after entry (35%) and debt (25%). Before, it compared colleges with each other and also counted graduation, which Academic Excellence already counts.
- Version 2.0 (Oct. 19, 2026): First version for College Compass Guide: the Compass Score is 50% Academic Excellence and 50% Value, both from federal data. The score has no religious part.
Which colleges are included
- Currently active, accredited four-year U.S. colleges in IPEDS (2024–25), meaning each participates in federal student aid or holds a current institutional accreditation in the Department of Education’s DAPIP database.
- Seminaries, graduate-only schools and two-year colleges are not included yet.
Limitations
- Federal outcome data cover only some students (for example, students who received federal aid).
- What your family pays depends on your income and the college’s aid; use each college’s net price calculator for your own estimate.
- The data change every year. Check the source dates and confirm with the college.
See something wrong? Send a correction with a link to an official source.