Reading the factor tiles

Next to every school on your report is a strip of 12 small tiles, one per factor, in the same order every time: level match, major, distance, school size, campus setting, climate, religious affiliation, academics, food and dining, housing, cost, and playability.

Color is the score

Green means the school scores well on that factor for you. Amber means a partial match. Red means a miss. Gray means Mosaic has no data for that factor at that school, and the factor was left out of the score.

A strip that is mostly green is a strong fit. A strip with one red tile in the middle of a green run is a school that fits on everything except one thing, and the tile tells you which thing.

Brightness is your weight

Tiles for factors you weighted heavily are drawn at full strength. Tiles for factors you weighted lightly are faded. A faded red tile is a miss on something you said did not matter much. A bright red tile is a miss on something you said did.

Hover for the reason

Rest the pointer on any tile to see the factor name, its score, and a one-line reason, for example "27 miles from home" or "Medium school, 7,100 undergraduates". Under the strip, the report lists the three factors that contributed most to that school's score.

Two schools, same score, different strips

Two schools can both score 84 with very different strips. One might be green on distance and academics and red on climate. The other might be the reverse. The number says they fit equally well overall. The strips say they fit for different reasons, and that is the more useful thing to know before a visit.