10 Colleges Where Graduates Have the Least Debt
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The benefits of going to college extend far beyond just getting a degree. Students can make lifelong friends , learn another language or even study abroad. Four years of undergraduate education, however, can also come with one huge drawback: student debt.
Americans owed more in student debt than any other kind of household debt other than mortgages in 2013, according to a report from the Urban Institute, a social policy research organization. That year, nationwide student debt exceeded $1.2 trillion, according to the report.
Some schools excel at keeping students' debt low for their bachelor's degrees. At Berea College in Kentucky, undergrads from the class of 2014 who borrowed for school had an average debt of $6,186. It had the lowest average debt out of 1,032 colleges and universities that submitted data to U.S. News in an annual survey.
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Berea was also among the top 10 schools where graduates who borrowed had low debt in 2013. One school that's new to the list is Louisiana State University--Alexandria, which is also the only school on the list that is in the Rank Not Published category. RNP schools are ranked in the bottom one-fourth of their ranking group. U.S. News calculates ranks for these schools but has decided not to publish them.
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The average debt among the 10 schools where 2014 graduates who borrowed took out the lowest amount was $8,964. For all schools, the average debt was $28,110.
Students at MacMurray College in Illinois had the highest average debt for students who borrowed: $50,039.
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Below is a list of the 10 schools where 2014 graduates who borrowed for school had the lowest average debt. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.
School name (state) | Average debt load, class of 2014 | Percentage of students who borrowed | U.S. News rank and category |
|---|---|---|---|
Berea College (KY) | $6,186 | 64 | 67 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Princeton University (NJ) | $6,600 | 17 | 1, National Universities |
CUNY--Baruch College | $7,737 | 29 | 32 (tie), Regional Universities (North) |
College of the Ozarks (MO) | $7,808 | 8 | 4, Regional Colleges (Midwest) |
Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology--Okmulgee | $8,785 | 75 | 30, Regional Colleges (West) |
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology | $9,567 | 37.6 | 25 (tie), Regional Universities (West) |
Alice Lloyd College (KY) | $9,949 | 51.6 | 30 (tie), Regional Colleges (South) |
Louisiana State University--Alexandria | $10,114 | 61 | RNP, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
CUNY--John Jay College of Criminal Justice | $11,246 | 20 | 125 (tie), Regional Universities (North) |
Bryan College (TN) | $11,643 | 60 | 30 (tie), Regional Colleges (South) |
Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find debt data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
U.S. News surveyed nearly 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2015 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News' data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News' rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The debt data above are correct as of Jan. 26, 2016.
Delece Smith-Barrow is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering graduate schools. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at dsmithbarrow@usnews.com.
