Service returned HTTP Response Code (College ScoreCard)

Question

I am using the url below to query in a Java Program:

https://api.data.gov/ed/collegescorecard/v1/schools.json?school.degrees_awarded.predominant=2,3&_fields=id,school.name=boston%20college,2017.student.size,2017.school.degree_urbanization,2017.admissions.admission_rate.overall,2017.admissions.sat_scores.average.overall&api_key=*****

However, I keep getting the error:

Server returned HTTP response code: 400 for URL

Not sure if anyone could help.

Answer 1

There are a few tweaks needed to get this query in shape.

• The schools endpoint does not need to have the extension .json added to it. The API returns json by default, so that was the cause of the 404 error.

• When filtering, such as you are on school name, those values need to be specified as part of the main query statement, and not part of the _fields parameter.

• The latest data available is from 2016 instead of 2017.

I have rewritten your query below so you can see these differences:

https://api.data.gov/ed/collegescorecard/v1/schools?school.name=boston%20college&school.degrees_awarded.predominant=2,3&_fields=id,school.name,2016.student.size,school.degree_urbanization,2016.admissions.admission_rate.overall,2016.admissions.sat_scores.average.overall&api_key=****

Also, API keys should be thought of as passwords and not posted or shared publically. I have removed it from your post and my response. If you reach out to the College Scorecard helpdesk, we can help set you up with a new key.