Methodology

How our program grades work

Every program earns an overall grade out of 100, and a letter grade, so you can compare fit quickly. Here's exactly what goes into it. It's a deliberately encouraging recruiting comparison tool, not an official ranking.

Overall grade composition
Academics · 40% 2025 soccer performance · 40% City location · 20%

Followed by a +5 recruiting-fit curve, with final scores capped at 100.

What goes into each score

The full method, straight from our grading model.

Overall grade

40% academics + 40% 2025 soccer performance + 20% city location, followed by a +5 recruiting-fit curve; final scores are capped at 100.

Academic score

60% incoming GPA, 30% acceptance/selectivity, and 10% breadth of majors/programs. Missing data receives a neutral 70 for that input.

Soccer score

65% final 2025 overall results using win/draw points percentage and 35% official regular-season conference finish.

City location score

A city-level opinion score rather than a state score. The same city/state pair receives the same score across divisions.

City score factors

Lifestyle and amenities; airport/metro access; soccer exposure and opportunity; climate/recreation; affordability and general recruiting appeal.

No 2025 team

A program listed with no 2025 team receives a soccer score of 35. Independents and conferences without regular-season standings use their overall results.

Interpretation

This is a deliberately encouraging recruiting comparison tool, not an official academic or quality-of-life ranking. The 5-point curve avoids overly harsh grades while preserving differences among programs.

Default city score

76

Letter grades

How the overall 0–100 score maps to a letter grade.

A+97–100
A93–96
A−90–92
B+87–89
B83–86
B−80–82
C+77–79
C73–76
C−70–72
D+67–69
D63–66
D−60–62
FBelow 60
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