College Scorecard MCP Server vs Filesystem
A side-by-side look at the College Scorecard MCP Server and Filesystem MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose College Scorecard MCP Server for education work as a local process; choose Filesystem for file systems as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose College Scorecard MCP Server when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Education domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
SCORECARD_API_KEY. - You want tools like
scorecard_search_schools, scorecard_get_school, scorecard_compare_schools.
Choose Filesystem when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the File Systems domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
path, head, tail.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Education | File Systems |
| Quality signal | 57/100 · Good | 85/100 · Excellent |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | No auth required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | SCORECARD_API_KEY | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Verified |
| GitHub stars | 1 | 91,512 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 10 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 9 | 17 |
| Full listing | View College Scorecard MCP Server | View Filesystem |
Tools & capabilities
College Scorecard MCP Server tools 9
scorecard_search_schoolsSearch institutions by name, location, type, size, acceptance rate, and single-sex flags; sort by supported API fields. Returns core identity and cost metrics.scorecard_get_schoolFull institutional profiles — costs, admissions, outcomes, aid, demographics, single-sex flags, and completion rates.scorecard_compare_schoolsNormalized side-by-side comparison of 2–5 schools on a named topic. Returns metric values, ordinal ranks, and a comparison summary.scorecard_get_programsField-of-study programs at one school: median 1-year earnings, cumulative Stafford/Grad PLUS debt, and IPEDS awards in the two pooled debt-cohort years.scorecard_search_programsFind programs by CIP and credential or keyword, retain degree identity, and rank earnings within each fetched school page.scorecard_get_earningsEarnings of federally aided undergraduate entrants working and not enrolled, regardless of completion: 6/8/10-year medians, 6/10-year P25/P75, and non-male/male 6-year medians.scorecard_value_analysisWorkflow tool: parallel-fetches cost, debt, repayment, and earnings data, then computes ROI metrics — debt-to-earnings ratio and net price to earnings ratio.scorecard_lookup_cipSearch 186 curated NCES CIP 2020 four-digit groups by code, keyword, or related program name. Served offline.scorecard_list_fieldsSearch the Scorecard field catalog by keyword. Returns matching field paths, descriptions, data types, and sort support. Use before passing custom `fields` parameters.
Filesystem tools 17
pathheadtailpathscontenteditsoldTextnewTextdryRunsortBysourcedestination- +5 more on the listing page
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
College Scorecard MCP Server
{
"mcpServers": {
"college-scorecard-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@cyanheads/college-scorecard-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"SCORECARD_API_KEY": "YOUR_SCORECARD_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Filesystem
{
"mcpServers": {
"filesystem": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
College Scorecard MCP Server is categorized under Education and uses a local stdio subprocess. Filesystem belongs to File Systems and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick College Scorecard MCP Server for education work and Filesystem for file systems.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
College Scorecard MCP Server has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Auth: api key required. Filesystem is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add college-scorecard-mcp-server and filesystem as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, College Scorecard MCP Server has a quality signal of 57/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars. Filesystem has 85/100 (Excellent) with 10 views, 0 installs and 91,512 GitHub stars.