# College Scorecard Scraper (`parseforge/college-scorecard-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes U.S. higher education institution data from the College Scorecard, returning cost, earnings, completion, and admission metrics as flat rows. Filter by state and degree type.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/college-scorecard-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Education, Lead generation, Other
- **Stats:** 5 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.50 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### College Scorecard Scraper

**Scrape U.S. college data from the Department of Education's College Scorecard, up to a million schools per run.** Every row includes cost, graduation rate, earnings after school, and admission stats. Filter by state and degree type. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

The College Scorecard API requires navigating a complex data dictionary and constructing multi-field queries. This Actor reads the public data directly, letting you filter schools by state and degree type, and returns each match in one flat, consistent schema. No API key or registration needed.

| Who uses it | What they scrape College Scorecard for |
|---|---|
| College counselors | Build a comparison spreadsheet of schools by cost and graduate outcomes for a specific state. |
| Education researchers | Analyze the relationship between admission rates and median student debt across degree types. |
| Marketing analysts | Identify institutions with high enrollment and low graduation rates for targeted outreach campaigns. |
| Data journalists | Compile a dataset on the earnings premium of bachelor's degrees versus associate degrees by region. |

### What it does

This Actor collects U.S. higher education institution data from the College Scorecard and returns each school as a flat row with cost, earnings, completion, and admission metrics.

- 🏛️ **Federal data source:** Pulls directly from the U.S. Department of Education's public College Scorecard data.
- 🗺️ **State filter:** Limit results to a single state using its two-letter postal abbreviation.
- 🎓 **Degree type filter:** Narrow schools down by their predominant credential: certificate, associate, bachelor's, or graduate.
- 📊 **Flat row output:** Each institution is one row with fields for cost, debt, earnings, completion, and admissions.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with College Scorecard data

**📋 Build a college shortlist.**

A counselor pulls all bachelor's-granting schools in Texas to compare net price and completion rates for a student.

**📈 Research earnings outcomes.**

An analyst scrapes graduate-degree schools nationwide to correlate median earnings with student debt levels.

**🗞️ Power a data story.**

A journalist collects data on certificate-granting schools to report on which programs lead to the highest salary increase.

**🎯 Find enrollment trends.**

A marketer filters for associate-degree schools with large undergraduate populations to identify potential advertising partners.

### Why choose this scraper

|  | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No API key** | Access public data without registration or rate limits. |
| **Consistent schema** | Every school returns the same flat structure, ready for analysis. |
| **Simple filters** | Target schools by state and degree type with two optional fields. |

### How it compares

The actors listed below scrape sports data from ESPN and odds feeds, not the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. They are not direct competitors for this education data scraper.

| Feature | ParseForge | Sports Odds Scraper | ESPN Sports Scraper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scrapes College Scorecard data | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| Filters by state and degree type | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| Returns cost and earnings metrics | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| No API key required | Yes | Yes | Not listed |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor by setting a maximum item count, and optionally filter by a two-letter state abbreviation and a predominant degree type. Filters are applied as the data is read so only matching schools reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
  "maxItems": 200
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.006 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $0.60 |
| 1,000 results | $6.00 |
| 10,000 results | $60.00 |

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [College Scorecard Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/college-scorecard-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to College Scorecard through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/college-scorecard-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check your state abbreviation and degree type filter. An invalid state code or a combination that matches zero schools will return an empty dataset. Try running without filters first to see all available data.

**The run stopped before reaching my max items limit.**

The Actor stops when it has read all schools matching your filters. If your filters are narrow, the total number of matching institutions may be less than your max items setting.

**Some fields are empty or null in my results.**

Not all metrics are reported by every institution. Small schools or those with privacy-suppressed data may have missing values for certain fields like earnings or admission rates.

**The state filter is not working.**

Ensure you are using the correct two-letter postal abbreviation in uppercase, such as CA for California or TX for Texas. Full state names are not accepted.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is the College Scorecard? | It is a public dataset from the U.S. Department of Education that provides information on the cost, quality, and value of higher education institutions in the United States. |
| Do I need an API key to use this Actor? | No. This Actor reads the public data feed directly, so you do not need to register for an API key or manage authentication. |
| What data fields are returned for each college? | The Actor returns a flat row with metrics on cost of attendance, graduation rates, median earnings of former students, student debt, admission rates, and institutional characteristics. |
| Can I filter by a specific state? | Yes. Use the State input field with a two-letter abbreviation like CA or NY to limit results to schools in that state. |
| Can I filter by degree type? | Yes. You can select from certificate, associate, bachelor's, or graduate programs to return only schools where that is the predominant degree offered. |
| How many colleges can I scrape in one run? | You can set the maximum items from 1 up to 1,000,000. The Actor will stop once it reaches your limit or runs out of matching schools. |
| What export formats are supported? | Your dataset can be exported to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform. |
| Is the data updated regularly? | The Actor pulls from the latest public release of the College Scorecard data, which is updated periodically by the Department of Education. |
| Can I get data on for-profit colleges? | Yes. The dataset includes all types of institutions that participate in federal student aid programs, including public, private non-profit, and for-profit schools. |
| Does this Actor use a web browser? | No. It reads the data directly from the source, so it runs fast and uses fewer platform resources than a browser-based scraper. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by U.S. Department of Education. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

# Actor input Schema

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

How many colleges to collect per run.

## `state` (type: `string`):

Two-letter US state abbreviation to filter results (e.g. CA, TX, NY). Leave empty for all states.

## `degreeType` (type: `string`):

Filter by predominant degree type offered

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `schools` (type: `string`):

Complete dataset with all scraped school records

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Overview of schools with key fields

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/college-scorecard-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "maxItems": 10 }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/college-scorecard-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/college-scorecard-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/college-scorecard-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/hIdbymYLkHrmO6Xxg/builds/ciL5BwFUBPVoH339K/openapi.json