Higher Education Outcomes — Methodology & Data Sources

Hi, I’m Caleb. I built this project because I was curious to see what the data actually looked like when you compare earnings outcomes across different schools and majors, and I figured other people might be interested too. I have a background in private equity and corporate development. I graduated from Georgetown University with a double major in Accounting and Finance, plus a minor in music. HEO is a personal, data-driven project meant to give a clearer picture of which combinations of school and major lead to the best earnings outcomes, using U.S. Department of Education data, simple assumptions, and transparent methodology.

It covers over 4,000 programs across hundreds of schools, letting you compare earnings outcomes by major, by school, or across the full landscape of college programs.

Find me on X (@calebosemobor)

All data is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports earnings of federal financial aid recipients one, four, and five years after graduation.

College rankings use graduate-weighted average earnings — each program’s median earnings are weighted by the number of graduates reporting, so large programs count more than small ones. This prevents specialized schools with a handful of high-earning programs from dominating the rankings.

ROI (Return on Investment) is calculated as first-year weighted average earnings divided by cost of attendance. A higher ratio means graduates earn more relative to what they paid. We use published cost of attendance rather than net price because net price varies significantly by family income, financial aid package, and scholarship awards — making it inconsistent across students.

Major rankings use graduate-weighted average earnings across all schools offering that major, with percentile ranges (25th–75th) to show the spread of outcomes across institutions.

Earnings reflect median values — half of graduates earn more and half earn less.

Graduate-Weighted Average Earnings

Each program’s median earnings multiplied by its number of graduates, then summed and divided by total graduates. Gives more weight to programs that produce more graduates.

ROI (Return on Investment)

First-year weighted average earnings divided by cost of attendance. Displayed as a multiplier (e.g., 1.5x means graduates earn 1.5 times what they paid). Higher is better. Uses published cost of attendance for consistency across schools.

Earnings Growth Rate

The percentage change from first-year to fifth-year median earnings. Shows how quickly graduates’ earnings increase after entering the workforce.

Selectivity Tiers

Schools are grouped into tiers based on admission rate, SAT scores, and institutional characteristics: Ivy League, Ivy Adjacent, Top 40, Competitive, and Standard. These tiers help contextualize earnings comparisons.

• Federal aid recipients only — Earnings data covers only students who received federal financial aid, which may not represent all graduates.
• Small sample suppression — The College Scorecard suppresses data where sample sizes are too small to protect student privacy. Some programs and schools may be missing.
• Cost of attendance — ROI calculations use published cost of attendance (sticker price) rather than net price after financial aid. This provides a consistent baseline across schools, though individual students may pay more or less depending on their aid package.
• No cost-of-living adjustment — Earnings are not adjusted for regional cost of living. A $60K salary in rural Kansas has different purchasing power than $60K in San Francisco.
• Historical, not predictive — All data reflects past outcomes. Future earnings for current students may differ due to economic conditions, industry changes, or policy shifts.