Ordered by median federal debt at graduation — smallest loan first, with what graduates go on to earn beside it. The typical graded US university clears its debt in 1.3 years on median earnings of $57,089 against $22,500 of debt.
| # | University | Grade | You borrow | Monthly | You earn | Debt clears in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 331 | Purdue University Fort Wayne IN | F | $21,500 | $244 | $45,872 | 3.4 yrs |
| 332 | Lyon College | F | $21,500 | $244 | $44,232 | 4.6 yrs |
| 333 | Reed College | B | $21,500 | $244 | $62,927 | 0.9 yrs |
| 334 | Willamette University | C | $21,500 | $244 | $56,911 | 1.2 yrs |
| 335 | Lewis University Illinois | B | $21,500 | $244 | $66,099 | 0.8 yrs |
| 336 | University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh | C | $21,500 | $244 | $55,548 | 1.3 yrs |
| 337 | Wake Forest University | A | $21,500 | $244 | $78,158 | 0.6 yrs |
| 338 | Winona State University | C | $21,500 | $244 | $58,532 | 1.1 yrs |
| 339 | University of Louisiana at Monroe | F | $21,500 | $244 | $46,769 | 3 yrs |
| 340 | Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Minnesota | C | $21,500 | $244 | $58,170 | 1.2 yrs |
| 341 | Eastern Illinois University | D | $21,500 | $244 | $51,989 | 1.7 yrs |
| 342 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | C | $21,500 | $244 | $57,289 | 1.2 yrs |
| 343 | Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia | C | $21,500 | $244 | $58,128 | 1.2 yrs |
| 344 | Clemson University | B | $21,500 | $244 | $71,513 | 0.7 yrs |
| 345 | Northwest Missouri State University Missouri | D | $21,500 | $244 | $47,885 | 2.6 yrs |
| 346 | University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point | D | $21,503 | $244 | $52,021 | 1.7 yrs |
| 347 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | C | $21,543 | $245 | $53,390 | 1.6 yrs |
| 348 | Dallas Baptist University | C | $21,591 | $245 | $56,807 | 1.3 yrs |
| 349 | California Lutheran University | B | $21,669 | $246 | $68,712 | 0.7 yrs |
| 350 | Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia | A | $21,672 | $246 | $102,772 | 0.3 yrs |
| 351 | Park University | C | $21,685 | $247 | $56,309 | 1.3 yrs |
| 352 | American Public University System | F | $21,743 | $247 | $44,409 | 4.5 yrs |
| 353 | Carnegie Mellon University Pennsylvania | A | $21,750 | $247 | $114,862 | 0.3 yrs |
| 354 | University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma | F | $21,750 | $247 | $41,913 | 9.1 yrs |
| 355 | Rhodes College | B | $21,761 | $247 | $66,651 | 0.8 yrs |
| 356 | Cleveland State University | D | $21,797 | $248 | $52,131 | 1.7 yrs |
| 357 | Georgian Court University | C | $21,816 | $248 | $53,096 | 1.6 yrs |
| 358 | University of Denver | B | $21,844 | $248 | $71,155 | 0.7 yrs |
| 359 | Western Carolina University North Carolina | D | $21,868 | $249 | $49,458 | 2.2 yrs |
| 360 | Peru State College | F | $21,875 | $249 | $47,071 | 2.9 yrs |
A university can leave students with little debt because it is genuinely affordable — strong institutional aid, low in-state tuition — or because so few of its students borrow that the median falls to a handful of cases. The earnings column beside it is what separates the two.
It counts federal loans only. Private loans, credit cards and parent borrowing sit outside the dataset, so a family that financed college another way appears here as low debt.
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard. Figures cover students who received federal financial aid and blend every subject at each institution. Information only, not financial advice.