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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 541 | Our Lady of the Lake University | F | $24,999 | $284 | $48,675 | 2.7 yrs |
| 542 | Harvey Mudd College California | A | $25,000 | $284 | $138,687 | 0.3 yrs |
| 543 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | A | $25,000 | $284 | $101,253 | 0.4 yrs |
| 544 | Illinois Institute of Technology | A | $25,000 | $284 | $82,592 | 0.6 yrs |
| 545 | Colorado State University - Global Campus | B | $25,000 | $284 | $76,813 | 0.7 yrs |
| 546 | Adelphi University | B | $25,000 | $284 | $75,482 | 0.7 yrs |
| 547 | Bryn Mawr College | B | $25,000 | $284 | $75,217 | 0.7 yrs |
| 548 | Sacred Heart University | B | $25,000 | $284 | $75,059 | 0.7 yrs |
| 549 | Wagner College | B | $25,000 | $284 | $74,360 | 0.7 yrs |
| 550 | Creighton University | B | $25,000 | $284 | $73,911 | 0.7 yrs |
| 551 | Regis University | B | $25,000 | $284 | $72,105 | 0.8 yrs |
| 552 | Saint Louis University Missouri | B | $25,000 | $284 | $70,783 | 0.8 yrs |
| 553 | University of Puget Sound | B | $25,000 | $284 | $69,594 | 0.8 yrs |
| 554 | City University of Seattle Washington | B | $25,000 | $284 | $69,460 | 0.8 yrs |
| 555 | University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth | B | $25,000 | $284 | $68,804 | 0.9 yrs |
| 556 | National University | B | $25,000 | $284 | $67,548 | 0.9 yrs |
| 557 | Norwich University Vermont | B | $25,000 | $284 | $65,575 | 1 yrs |
| 558 | Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania | C | $25,000 | $284 | $63,435 | 1.1 yrs |
| 559 | McDaniel College Maryland | C | $25,000 | $284 | $60,663 | 1.2 yrs |
| 560 | Christopher Newport University | C | $25,000 | $284 | $60,509 | 1.2 yrs |
| 561 | Spelman College | C | $25,000 | $284 | $59,993 | 1.2 yrs |
| 562 | Augustana University South Dakota | C | $25,000 | $284 | $59,217 | 1.3 yrs |
| 563 | Shenandoah University | C | $25,000 | $284 | $58,433 | 1.3 yrs |
| 564 | Felician University New Jersey | C | $25,000 | $284 | $57,602 | 1.4 yrs |
| 565 | Hood College | C | $25,000 | $284 | $57,089 | 1.4 yrs |
| 566 | Trine University | C | $25,000 | $284 | $57,165 | 1.4 yrs |
| 567 | Southwestern University | C | $25,000 | $284 | $56,878 | 1.4 yrs |
| 568 | Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania | C | $25,000 | $284 | $56,351 | 1.5 yrs |
| 569 | Curry College | C | $25,000 | $284 | $54,400 | 1.7 yrs |
| 570 | Marian University Wisconsin | D | $25,000 | $284 | $53,501 | 1.8 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.