How the value grade works.

The core formula

For each school we compute an ROI score as (median earnings 10 years after enrolling × 10) ÷ (average net price × 4). This multiplies one annual median by ten and one annual average price by four. It does not track ten years of actual earnings, subtract forgone earnings, account for inflation over a career, or calculate an investment return. The four-year assumption is not the duration of every credential. A higher ratio is a signal to investigate, not proof of better value.

From score to grade

Schools are ranked by ROI score and graded on their percentile: the strongest values earn A+ and A, the middle band B and C, and the lowest ratios D. Grades are relative to the colleges in our dataset. An A+ means a high ratio within this model, not a verified claim about teaching quality, employment prospects, or the best choice for a particular student.

Public ranking reliability gate

The raw formula is calculated for every school with usable price and earnings data. To lead a public ROI ranking, a school must also report an average net price of at least $4,600, enrollment of at least 500 students and a graduation rate. The price floor is the rounded fifth percentile of the current dataset. This prevents an unusually tiny net-price denominator or a very small, incomplete record from creating a misleading national “winner.” Excluded schools remain available in the directory and in non-ROI comparisons.

Net price, not sticker price

We use average net price — tuition, fees, and living costs minus the grants and scholarships students actually receive — rather than the published sticker price. Where available we also show net price broken out by family-income bracket. These institution-level undergraduate averages describe the federal reporting population, not a quote for a specific program or a graduate degree. Compare your own aid offer and expected time to completion.

Data handling

• Open or non-reporting colleges may not publish a standard acceptance rate in federal data; we show those as open or not reported instead of treating missing data as a precise 100% admit rate.
• Schools missing net price or earnings data can't be graded on value and are excluded.
• Program figures. Scorecard publishes earnings for some fields and credential levels. Where we have verified that source, program pages show a separate credential-level section. Other figures remain explicitly school-wide. The legacy award-share percentage is not current enrollment, a headcount, or program earnings; it combines credentials and can use different reporting years when a count is missing. Do not compare it with a single year's credential count.

Updates & limitations

The institution-level dataset was last refreshed in June 2026. Source releases, measurement years and page edit dates are different. School-wide ten-year earnings refer to federally aided students measured after entry, including non-completers, in the source's working, not-enrolled population. They are not the salary of all graduates. Program outcomes use different completion cohorts and must not be compared directly with that ten-year figure.

Missing and privacy-suppressed program values are not zero. A program may have no publishable earnings even when it reports awards. Related campuses can share an OPE6 earnings reporting group; a credential section identifies that scope rather than claiming campus-specific precision. Neither a federal record nor a historical award count confirms that a program accepts students today. Verify the current catalog, total cost and requirements with the school.

Sources: College Scorecard downloads, data dictionary, and field-of-study documentation. Outcomes vary by student and circumstance. This tool is not financial or admissions advice.