Verified college data, free to build on.

Quick start

1. Sign in to GradFax and visit /my-gradfax/api-keys
2. Create a key — you get a string starting with gf_live_
3. Pass it as the X-API-Key header on every request

curl -H "X-API-Key: gf_live_abc123..." \
  "https://gradfax.com/api/v1/schools?state=CA&limit=5"

Authentication

All v1 read endpoints require an X-API-Key header. Keys never expire but you can revoke and rotate them at any time from your dashboard.

Key management endpoints (/api/v1/keys) use your authenticated session cookie instead — they're not callable from third-party servers.

Endpoints

curl -H "X-API-Key: gf_live_..." "https://gradfax.com/api/v1/schools?state=CA&max_tuition=20000&limit=10"

curl -H "X-API-Key: gf_live_..." "https://gradfax.com/api/v1/schools/110635"

fetch("/api/v1/keys", { credentials: "include" })

fetch("/api/v1/keys", { method: "POST", headers: {"Content-Type":"application/json"}, body: JSON.stringify({ name: "My App" }) })

Response fields

Every school object includes the fields below. Some may be null when the source data is suppressed (e.g., small cohorts where IPEDS withholds for privacy).

Pricing

Need more? Email hello@gradfax.com. Educational researchers get free Startup-tier access — just ask.

Rate limits & errors

Limits reset on the 1st of each month at 00:00 UTC. When you hit the cap, requests return:

HTTP 429 Too Many Requests
{
  "error": "Monthly limit reached (500 requests for free tier). Resets Jun 1 2026."
}

Data sources

• • IPEDS — National Center for Education Statistics, institutional characteristics + enrollment + outcomes
• • College Scorecard — US Department of Education, earnings + debt + repayment
• • ED.gov Net Price Calculators — federally mandated, per-school
• • Common Data Set — voluntary per-school disclosures (when available)

Refresh cadence: IPEDS annually (December), Scorecard annually (March-April). Each field's last-updated timestamp ships in the response when applicable.