Transparency
How We Make Money — and How We Keep the Rankings Honest
Most "best college" sites are paid to rank schools. We aren't, and we never will be. Here's exactly how CollegeRanker earns revenue, and the firewall that keeps it away from what we publish.
The one rule
Our rankings, scores, and data are independent and not for sale. No school, sponsor, or advertiser can buy a higher rank, a better score, or favorable placement in our rankings. Ever.
Where our revenue comes from
Program-discovery links
Some links connecting families to accredited programs are affiliate or advertising links — if you request information or enroll, we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. These appear as clearly marked "Sponsored" or "Ad" units, separate from our rankings. Which programs appear is determined by our advertising partners, never by our rankings — and our rankings are never influenced by them.
CollegeRanker Studio
Organizations can work with us through Studio — sponsored content, editorial partnerships, earned-media support, and licensed data. Sponsored and co-branded work is always labeled as such and kept separate from our independent editorial and rankings.
Data & research
We license the CollegeRanker Data Index and produce commissioned research. That data is held to the same sourced, no-invented-numbers standard whether it appears in a free article or a paid client report.
What we don't do
- ● Sell rankings, scores, or placement within rankings.
- ● Accept payment to add, remove, or move a school.
- ● Let advertisers review or influence our editorial or methodology.
- ● Publish sponsored work without clearly labeling it.
- ● Invent, estimate, or "round up" data to make a story or a sponsor look better.
Where the money goes
We put 10–25% of our net revenue toward the same thing we measure: access to education. It funds schooling for children in Manila through our impact partner, Young Focus.
Questions about this policy? Email info@collegeranker.com.
