# US College Finder: Filter by Admission Barriers & State (`scrapemint/us-college-finder`) Actor Every US college and university, filtered how students choose: open-admissions vs selective, online-only, 2-year vs 4-year, public vs private, by admission rate, test policy and state. Official Dept of Education College Scorecard data, one row per school with website and net-price links. Keyless. - **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapemint/us-college-finder.md - **Developed by:** [Ken M](https://apify.com/scrapemint) (community) - **Categories:** Education, Business - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use 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 ## US College Finder: Filter by Admission Barriers & State Shortlist US colleges the way a student actually decides: by how open the door is and how they can attend, not by trawling one school website at a time. Filter every Title IV college and university in the United States (~6,600 institutions) by open-admissions policy, online-only delivery, 2-year vs 4-year, public vs private, admission rate, test-score policy and state, and get one clean row per school with its official website and net-price calculator. ### Data source Official **US Department of Education College Scorecard** institution file (the same dataset behind collegescorecard.ed.gov). Downloaded fresh each run from the department's public download bucket. No API key, no login, no proxy. ### Filters (input) | Field | What it does | | --- | --- | | `states` | Two-letter codes, e.g. `CA`, `TX`. Empty = all states/territories. | | `levels` | `4-year`, `2-year`, `less-than-2-year`. Empty = all. | | `controls` | `public`, `private-nonprofit`, `private-forprofit`. Empty = all. | | `openAdmissionOnly` | Keep only open-admissions schools (best proxy for "start soon, low barriers"). | | `onlineOnly` | Keep only schools that deliver exclusively online. | | `testNotRequired` | Keep only schools that do not require SAT/ACT (see coverage note). | | `offersCredential` | Keep schools offering programs at any of: `certificate`, `associate`, `bachelor`, `graduate`. | | `federalAidOnly` | Keep only schools approved for federal Title IV student aid (Pell / federal loans). | | `maxAdmissionRate` | Keep schools with admission rate at or below this (0-1). | | `keyword` | Case-insensitive match on the institution name. | | `sortBy` | `name` (state then name), `admissionRate`, or `size`. | | `maxRows` | Cap on rows returned. Controls cost. | ### Output (one row per institution) `name`, `city`, `state`, `zip`, `level`, `control`, `openAdmissions`, `onlineOnly`, `admissionRate`, `testScoresRequired`, `undergradSize`, `credentialLevels`, `federalAidParticipating`, `pctStudentsWithPellGrant`, `pctStudentsWithFederalLoan`, `website`, `netPriceCalculator`, `scorecardUrl`, `unitId`, `opeId`. - `credentialLevels` is an array of the levels the school offers programs at, e.g. `["certificate","associate","bachelor"]`. - `federalAidParticipating` is `true` when the school is approved for federal Title IV student aid; `pctStudentsWithPellGrant` and `pctStudentsWithFederalLoan` show the share of undergrads who actually receive each. ### What this actor does not include (read before buying) Two things students often want are **not published in any national dataset**, so this actor does not guess at them: - **Term start dates** (Summer I / Summer II / Fall). There is no central feed for academic calendars; each school posts its own. Use the `website` link to read the current calendar at the source. - **"High-school transcript required."** College Scorecard omits the IPEDS admission-requirement fields for secondary-school records, so a reliable transcript flag cannot be derived. The `website` link is where each school states its document requirements. The `openAdmissions`, `onlineOnly` and `testScoresRequired` flags are the honest, data-backed signals for low-barrier, start-soon options. - **Aid eligibility for a specific program.** `federalAidParticipating` is an institution-level flag: the school participates in federal Title IV aid. Whether one particular certificate or associate program qualifies for aid is program-level Title IV eligibility, which is **not** published as a clean flag in any national dataset (the field-of-study loan data is privacy-suppressed for ~78% of programs and reflects borrowing, not eligibility). So this actor reports which levels a school offers and whether the school takes federal aid, but not per-program aid eligibility. #### Coverage notes - `openAdmissions` is populated for ~85% of institutions; the rest come back as `null` (unknown, not "selective"). - `testScoresRequired` is reported by ~30% of institutions (mostly 4-year schools). When `testNotRequired` is on, schools with no reported policy are excluded rather than assumed. - `admissionRate` exists mainly for schools that admit selectively; open and community colleges usually leave it blank. ### Pricing Pay per event: **$0.008 per institution row**. The first **2 rows per run are free**, so you can preview the shape of the output at no cost. ### Example ```json { "states": ["TX"], "levels": ["2-year"], "openAdmissionOnly": true, "sortBy": "size", "maxRows": 100 } ```` Returns Texas community colleges with an open-admissions policy, largest first, each with a link to enroll. # Actor input Schema ## `states` (type: `array`): Two-letter state codes to include, e.g. CA, TX, NY. Empty = all US states and territories. ## `levels` (type: `array`): Which levels to include. Empty = all. ## `controls` (type: `array`): Public, private nonprofit, or private for-profit. Empty = all. ## `openAdmissionOnly` (type: `boolean`): Keep only schools with an open-admissions policy (accept essentially all applicants with a high-school diploma or equivalent). Best proxy for "I can start soon with low barriers". ## `onlineOnly` (type: `boolean`): Keep only institutions that deliver programs exclusively via distance education. ## `testNotRequired` (type: `boolean`): Keep only schools that do not require SAT/ACT scores (test-optional or scores not required). Only applies to schools that report a test policy (~30% of the file); others are dropped when this is on. ## `offersCredential` (type: `array`): Keep only schools that offer programs at one or more of these levels. Empty = any. ## `federalAidOnly` (type: `boolean`): Keep only schools approved for federal Title IV student aid (Pell grants and federal loans). Note: this is institution-level participation; whether a specific program qualifies for aid is not in the public data. ## `maxAdmissionRate` (type: `string`): Keep only schools whose admission rate is at or below this value, 0-1 (e.g. 0.8 = 80%). Only schools that report an admission rate are kept. Empty = no limit. ## `keyword` (type: `string`): Case-insensitive substring match on the institution name, e.g. "community", "tech", "state". ## `sortBy` (type: `string`): Order of the returned rows. ## `maxRows` (type: `integer`): Cap on institutions returned. Controls total cost. First 2 rows per run are free. ## Actor input object example ```json { "states": [ "TX" ], "levels": [ "2-year" ], "controls": [], "openAdmissionOnly": false, "onlineOnly": false, "testNotRequired": false, "offersCredential": [], "federalAidOnly": false, "maxAdmissionRate": "", "keyword": "", "sortBy": "name", "maxRows": 200 } ``` # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "states": [ "TX" ], "levels": [ "2-year" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("scrapemint/us-college-finder").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "states": ["TX"], "levels": ["2-year"], } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("scrapemint/us-college-finder").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "states": [ "TX" ], "levels": [ "2-year" ] }' | apify call scrapemint/us-college-finder --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scrapemint/us-college-finder", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "US College Finder: Filter by Admission Barriers & State", "description": "Every US college and university, filtered how students choose: open-admissions vs selective, online-only, 2-year vs 4-year, public vs private, by admission rate, test policy and state. Official Dept of Education College Scorecard data, one row per school with website and net-price links. Keyless.", "version": "0.2", "x-build-id": "bLEdlRCxV9390HGdY" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/scrapemint~us-college-finder/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-scrapemint-us-college-finder", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/scrapemint~us-college-finder/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-scrapemint-us-college-finder", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/scrapemint~us-college-finder/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-scrapemint-us-college-finder", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "states": { "title": "States", "type": "array", "description": "Two-letter state codes to include, e.g. CA, TX, NY. Empty = all US states and territories.", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "levels": { "title": "Institution level", "type": "array", "description": "Which levels to include. Empty = all.", "items": { "type": "string", "enum": [ "4-year", "2-year", "less-than-2-year" ], "enumTitles": [ "4-year (bachelor's+)", "2-year (associate / community college)", "Less-than-2-year (certificate)" ] }, "default": [] }, "controls": { "title": "Ownership", "type": "array", "description": "Public, private nonprofit, or private for-profit. Empty = all.", "items": { "type": "string", "enum": [ "public", "private-nonprofit", "private-forprofit" ], "enumTitles": [ "Public", "Private nonprofit", "Private for-profit" ] }, "default": [] }, "openAdmissionOnly": { "title": "Open-admissions only", "type": "boolean", "description": "Keep only schools with an open-admissions policy (accept essentially all applicants with a high-school diploma or equivalent). Best proxy for \"I can start soon with low barriers\".", "default": false }, "onlineOnly": { "title": "Online-only schools", "type": "boolean", "description": "Keep only institutions that deliver programs exclusively via distance education.", "default": false }, "testNotRequired": { "title": "Admission test not required", "type": "boolean", "description": "Keep only schools that do not require SAT/ACT scores (test-optional or scores not required). Only applies to schools that report a test policy (~30% of the file); others are dropped when this is on.", "default": false }, "offersCredential": { "title": "Offers credential level", "type": "array", "description": "Keep only schools that offer programs at one or more of these levels. Empty = any.", "items": { "type": "string", "enum": [ "certificate", "associate", "bachelor", "graduate" ], "enumTitles": [ "Certificate / diploma", "Associate's", "Bachelor's", "Graduate (master's+)" ] }, "default": [] }, "federalAidOnly": { "title": "Federal student aid participants only", "type": "boolean", "description": "Keep only schools approved for federal Title IV student aid (Pell grants and federal loans). Note: this is institution-level participation; whether a specific program qualifies for aid is not in the public data.", "default": false }, "maxAdmissionRate": { "title": "Max admission rate", "type": "string", "description": "Keep only schools whose admission rate is at or below this value, 0-1 (e.g. 0.8 = 80%). Only schools that report an admission rate are kept. Empty = no limit.", "default": "" }, "keyword": { "title": "Name contains", "type": "string", "description": "Case-insensitive substring match on the institution name, e.g. \"community\", \"tech\", \"state\".", "default": "" }, "sortBy": { "title": "Sort by", "enum": [ "name", "admissionRate", "size" ], "type": "string", "description": "Order of the returned rows.", "default": "name" }, "maxRows": { "title": "Max rows per run", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 7000, "type": "integer", "description": "Cap on institutions returned. Controls total cost. First 2 rows per run are free.", "default": 200 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```