Evidence before confidence.
Sources and verification
We prefer primary institutional and government sources. Every numerical record carries a reporting year, source reference, retrieval timestamp, and verification state. Verification means the value was checked against its cited page; it does not guarantee that the publisher will not revise it.
Missing data is not zero
Unknown values stay blank, never zero. Numeric filters leave out universities without the required value. Comparisons retain original currencies and years. Trend charts require at least two sourced observations. A missing rank never means a low rank.
Calculated indicators
Data completeness is the percentage of ten defined research metrics with published values. CollegeStat Fit uses your country, program, budget, and aid preferences, with weights you control. Only supported dimensions enter the weighted average. It is a preference indicator, never an admission probability or official university score.
Currency and comparability
Original source currency is preserved. Optional conversions require a stored exchange-rate source and timestamp and are labeled estimates. Amounts for different populations, programs, and years may not be directly comparable.
Ranking permissions
We only show a ranking edition when its publisher allows reuse. We do not create a combined rank, reproduce protected editions without permission, or invent methodology weights.
Corrections and conflicts
New data is reviewed before it is published. When sources disagree, both values are kept and flagged rather than silently replaced. Every change is logged, and each figure's source panel shows notes and uncertainty.