Data Sources & Methodology
How CampusPin sources and organizes college information
CampusPin draws on public, institutional, and third-party education data to make college discovery clearer. This page explains where information comes from, how we present it, and what families should always confirm directly with each institution.
Approach
Public + institutional
Goal
Easier comparison
Audience
Students & families
Disclosure
Verify with each school
Where the data comes from
Last reviewed: 2026-04-25
Public, institutional, and third-party education sources
CampusPin draws institutional facts primarily from federal education datasets and supplements them with editorial review. The goal is to consolidate information that is already published across many official sources into a single comparison surface for students and families.
Profile data points include location, tuition and cost, admissions context, academic programs, safety indicators, student life details, graduation rates, and other factors that inform a college-selection decision.
IPEDS / NCES College Navigator
Federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System — primary source for enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, graduation rates, and program offerings. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.
U.S. Department of Education — net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context. Updated annually.
Annual Security and Fire Safety reports required under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure Act. Used for visible campus-safety context with appropriate framing.
Local-area crime context that surrounds a campus. Always paired with school-side context, never used standalone.
Institutional websites
Each school's own admissions, registrar, financial aid, and program pages are the authoritative source for current details and are always linked from the profile.
How we organize it
| Principle | How CampusPin applies it |
|---|---|
| Source awareness | Institution information is presented as part of a broader research workflow that students should still verify with each college. |
| Structured presentation | Profiles, filters, and comparison tools are organized so users can review schools side by side with less friction. |
| Update discipline | Institution-side workflows and protected change paths exist so public information is not treated casually. |
| Decision support | CampusPin is designed to improve discovery and narrowing — not to replace direct institutional confirmation. |
Profiles
Organize tuition, admissions, academic, and fit context into one review surface for each institution.
Filters & comparison
Let students narrow thousands of schools to a practical shortlist using transparent criteria.
Editorial guides
Turn broad student questions into structured guidance and topical archives.
Institution workflows
Preserve quality through claim, update, and support routing for verified representatives.
Important: Verify before deciding
Some information changes — always confirm with the institution
- Information may change over time. Tuition, admissions requirements, deadlines, financial aid, and program offerings are updated by colleges throughout the year and may not always be reflected immediately on CampusPin.
- Verify final details directly with each college or university.Before applying, paying a deposit, or making a final decision, confirm admissions, tuition, financial aid, deadlines, and program details on the institution’s own website or with its admissions or financial aid office.
- No guarantee of completeness. CampusPin does not guarantee that every data point on the platform is complete, current, or error-free. We work to keep information accurate, but the official source for each college is always the institution itself.
Use the methodology in context
CampusPin is designed for clearer discovery — pair what you find here with each institution’s official site for the final word.