College Match

We estimate a student’s net price at any 4-year college in the U.S. This is very important because the net price a student or family pays can often be dramatically less than the sticker price shown on a college’s website.

We estimate the amount of federal grants, institutional grants, and merit scholarships that you may qualify for at each college. All of these amount to “free money.” So, when comparing the costs of different colleges, you should consider your net price, not the sticker price.

Prices shown are our best estimates. They are not perfect, but are generally close to the net price estimate on a college’s official net price calculator (NPC).

All prices are per year and calculated for full-time students living on campus.

College matches will be organized into one of five match categories: “Safety”, “Near Safety”, “Match, “Reach” or “Huge Reach”. These categories are based on your estimated admissions chance at that particular college.

Some colleges—particularly very selective colleges like Ivy League schools—will be categorized as a “Huge Reach” for all students, including those who match their academic profile. This is because even for well-qualified students, it’s still very difficult to get accepted to these colleges.

Estimated admissions chances are based on a combination of the student’s academic information and the overall acceptance rate of a college.

These chances are our estimates and may be different for each student, based on their individual coursework, class rank and other factors that we do not currently include in our calculations.

College Raptor calculates two types of match scores: Academic Match and Overall Match.

Academic Match scores are based on academic criteria of the student versus the college’s average student profile and the student’s preferred majors. Overall Match scores include Academic Match, plus cultural and location preferences.