College Scorecard MCP for AI. Audit school performance and costs instantly.
Works with every AI agent you already use
…and any MCP-compatible client








Connect to your AI in seconds.
College Scorecard API provides access to US college performance and cost data directly through your agent. Instead of navigating complex government portals, you can ask for school details by zip code, state, or city, getting verified records on enrollment size, tuition costs, and academic programs instantly.
What your AI can do
Get college details
Retrieves the complete profile data for a single, specific college using its unique ID.
Get fields of study
Gets detailed information about academic programs or fields of study offered at an institution.
List colleges by city
Lists all colleges and universities located within a specified city boundary.
Find and list thousands of colleges based on a specific state, city, or ZIP code.
Retrieve detailed metadata for any single college using its unique ID.
Check the specific fields of study offered by an institution to understand their curriculum offerings.
Pull official data on a school's costs, helping with financial planning for higher education.
Search across the entire database of US colleges by name or keyword.
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College Scorecard API with 6 Tools
These tools allow you to find specific school details, list schools by location (state, city, ZIP), or check academic programs across the entire US database.
Make your AI actually useful.
Add this MCP to Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf and your AI stops guessing. It gets real tools to look things up, take action, and handle the stuff you keep doing by hand.
Start using College Scorecard API on VinkiusGet College Details
Retrieves the complete profile data for a single, specific college using its unique ID.
Get Fields Of Study
Gets detailed information about academic programs or fields of study offered at an...
List Colleges By City
Lists all colleges and universities located within a specified city boundary.
List Colleges By State
Retrieves a comprehensive list of schools for an entire state.
List Colleges By Zip
Lists colleges and universities that are geographically close to a provided ZIP code.
Search Colleges
Performs a general search across all US college records by name or keyword.
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Build Your Own
Turn any API into an MCP. Import a spec, define Agent Skills, or deploy with MCPFusion.
- Import from OpenAPI, Swagger, or YAML specs
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Make Your AI Do More
Start with College Scorecard API, then connect any of our 5,000+ other servers whenever your AI needs more. One click, no limits.
- Use this MCP plus 5,000+ others, all in one place
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- Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and more
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Independent Platform Disclaimer: Vinkius is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, verified by, or otherwise authorized by College Scorecard. All third-party trademarks, logos, and brand names are the property of their respective owners. Their use on this website is strictly for informational purposes to identify service compatibility and interoperability.
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Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and more
The Model Context Protocol standardizes how applications expose capabilities to LLMs. Instead of operating in isolation, your AI gains direct access to external platforms, live data, and real-world actions through secure, standardized connections.
This connection provides 6 powerful capabilities that interface natively with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and other compatible AI platforms. No middleware. No custom integration required.
Manually collecting school records is a nightmare process.
Today, finding comprehensive college data means clicking through multiple government websites. You pull location lists from one site, tuition costs from another, and program details from a third. This requires constant copy-pasting across tabs and massive amounts of manual cross-referencing just to build a simple comparison chart.
With this MCP, your agent does the legwork. It runs targeted queries against official data sources—whether you need `list_colleges_by_state` or details on student body size—and hands you one clean summary. You get accurate, verified comparisons instantly.
The College Scorecard API MCP delivers verifiable program intelligence.
You never have to manually verify if a school offers the major you're interested in. Instead of guessing or clicking through deep curriculum pages, you simply tell your agent what field of study you want and it uses `get_fields_of_study` to confirm its availability.
The outcome is a single source of truth for program data. You get accurate, verifiable answers without ever having to deal with messy government portal navigation again.
What your AI can actually do with this
This MCP lets your AI client handle all the heavy lifting in college research. You no longer have to jump between multiple department websites just to compare schools. Your agent takes the raw data from the Department of Education's API and presents it as answers to natural questions. Whether you need a list of every school near 90210, or specific details on program costs for a certain major, your agent handles the query and pulls the official records right into your chat window.
Because this MCP is hosted on Vinkius, you access all US college data through one connection point, so you don't have to manage multiple data sources. It’s like having an expert education consultant available 24/7, grounding every piece of information in verified public records.
019d8429-458e-70cc-a84a-bb4e1c55f9ed Here's how it actually works
The bottom line is that you talk to the MCP through your client, and it handles all the complex data requests behind the scenes.
Subscribe to this MCP and provide your Data.gov API Key.
Connect your preferred agent (Claude, Cursor, etc.) using Vinkius.
Ask your agent a natural language question, like 'List all schools in Texas offering engineering programs.'
Who is this actually for?
College Counselors and Academic Researchers wake up needing quick access to verifiable school metrics. They're tired of manually cross-referencing different government databases or spending hours writing basic SQL queries just to map regional academic hubs.
Verifies enrollment trends and audits program distribution across multiple institutions for a study.
Performs rapid audits of nearby schools, identifying specific programs or cost markers using natural language queries.
Checks college options and retrieves current tuition cost metadata straight into their research workflow.
What Changes When You Connect
When you need to know schools in a region, use list_colleges_by_state or list_colleges_by_city. This gets you lists of institutions without manual map searches.
Need to compare two universities? Run get_college_details on both IDs. You'll get side-by-side data points, including enrollment size and location.
For program research, use get_fields_of_study. It lets you drill down into specific majors—not just the college name—to confirm academic offerings.
Cost planning is simple. The MCP provides cost analysis data directly when querying schools, so you don't have to piece together tuition from multiple sources.
If you only know a rough area, list_colleges_by_zip finds nearby options automatically. It narrows down your search field instantly.
See it in action
Mapping local academic opportunities
A counselor needs to show parents all available schools within 5 miles of a specific neighborhood. They ask the agent, and it uses list_colleges_by_zip to generate an immediate list of viable options.
Verifying institutional scale
A researcher needs to know if Harvard University (ID 166027) has seen a change in student body size. They run get_college_details and get the latest official enrollment metadata for immediate comparison.
Comparing niche programs
A parent wants to know about marine biology programs at several colleges. Instead of searching site by site, they use get_fields_of_study to query that specific major across multiple institutions.
Broad market research
An administrator needs a quick list of all potential partners in the Midwest. They run list_colleges_by_state for 'IL' and get a comprehensive list to start cross-functional outreach.
The honest tradeoffs
Trying to search everything generally
Asking the agent, 'Find me schools with good programs in big cities.' This vague query might return too many results or miss key details.
Instead, start by using list_colleges_by_city to narrow down the location list. Then, run get_fields_of_study on those specific school IDs for targeted program data.
Only relying on general keywords
Searching only by 'engineering' using a broad search tool might return academic programs that aren't actually offered.
Use get_fields_of_study to ensure the program is officially listed for the school you are investigating. This guarantees accuracy.
Manually cross-referencing location data
Copying a ZIP code from Google Maps and then manually checking if it's near a college listing.
Just run list_colleges_by_zip. The MCP handles the geography check against official records, saving you clicks.
When It Fits, When It Doesn't
Use this MCP if your goal is comparing US colleges or auditing academic data using verifiable government metrics. You need to know if a program exists, how much it costs, and where the school is located—all from official records. Don't use this if you just need general web content (like student reviews) or real-time chat advice; this MCP deals with static, official academic data points. If your only goal is to find a college name and location without needing performance metrics, a basic directory search might suffice, but using search_colleges here gives you the extra layer of verified detail you need.
Questions you might have
How do I find all colleges in California? (list_colleges_by_state) +
You use list_colleges_by_state. This tool pulls every official school record for that state, giving you a complete list to work with.
Can I get program cost details using get_fields_of_study? (get_fields_of_study) +
While get_fields_of_study confirms the existence of an academic field, running get_college_details will give you the full financial metadata needed for cost analysis.
What if I only know a ZIP code? (list_colleges_by_zip) +
Use list_colleges_by_zip. This tool searches the official database and returns all institutions located near that specific postal code, saving you manual research.
Which tool do I use for general school searches? (search_colleges) +
For a broad search based on names or keywords across the entire US database, use search_colleges. It's designed to cast a wide net of initial possibilities.
What is the required format when using `get_college_details`? +
You must provide a valid, unique college ID. The tool requires this specific identifier to pull comprehensive data for one institution only. This method ensures you get accurate records without needing a name or location search first.
What happens if I run many searches using `list_colleges_by_city`? +
The MCP handles rate limits automatically, but excessive calls may require pausing your agent. For bulk data needs, structure your queries into batches to maintain consistent performance and avoid hitting usage caps.
How should I handle complex searches when using `search_colleges`? +
For optimal results, refine your search terms with specific keywords. If the initial search returns too many options, use a follow-up tool like listing by state or zip code to narrow down your focus.
Does `get_college_details` return all fields of study information? +
It returns full metadata for the college, which includes details about its programs. However, if you only need a specific field's cost structure, running get_fields_of_study separately is more direct.
How do I find my College Scorecard API Key? +
Register for a free API Key at Data.gov. Your key will be displayed instantly and sent via email. Copy and paste it below.
Can the agent filter by school state? +
Yes. Use the list_colleges_by_state tool providing the 2-letter ISO state code (e.g., 'CA' for California). Your agent will return all matching schools in that state instantly.
Is student body size data provided? +
Yes. The school records retrieved by your agent include the latest official student size (enrollment) for undergraduate programs where available.
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