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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 661 | Lake Forest College | C | $26,158 | $297 | $61,825 | 1.2 yrs |
| 662 | Pfeiffer University North Carolina | D | $26,163 | $297 | $51,562 | 2.2 yrs |
| 663 | Marywood University Pennsylvania | C | $26,186 | $298 | $55,817 | 1.6 yrs |
| 664 | Western Michigan University Michigan | D | $26,188 | $298 | $53,562 | 1.9 yrs |
| 665 | Duquesne University | B | $26,244 | $298 | $74,742 | 0.8 yrs |
| 666 | Belhaven University Mississippi | F | $26,333 | $299 | $46,440 | 3.8 yrs |
| 667 | Indiana Institute of Technology | F | $26,391 | $300 | $47,327 | 3.4 yrs |
| 668 | Denver College of Nursing Colorado | B | $26,500 | $301 | $81,809 | 0.6 yrs |
| 669 | The College of Wooster Ohio | C | $26,500 | $301 | $59,629 | 1.3 yrs |
| 670 | Harding University | D | $26,500 | $301 | $52,876 | 2 yrs |
| 671 | Virginia State University | F | $26,500 | $301 | $45,543 | 4.4 yrs |
| 672 | Hendrix College | C | $26,688 | $303 | $60,376 | 1.3 yrs |
| 673 | Anderson University South Carolina | F | $26,700 | $304 | $42,101 | 10.3 yrs |
| 674 | Agnes Scott College | C | $26,749 | $304 | $56,274 | 1.6 yrs |
| 675 | Gustavus Adolphus College | C | $26,774 | $304 | $65,607 | 1 yrs |
| 676 | Rochester Institute of Technology New York | B | $26,778 | $304 | $76,571 | 0.7 yrs |
| 677 | Indiana University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania | D | $26,798 | $305 | $51,019 | 2.3 yrs |
| 678 | Hope College | C | $26,800 | $305 | $58,427 | 1.4 yrs |
| 679 | Newberry College | F | $26,805 | $305 | $48,040 | 3.2 yrs |
| 680 | Champlain College | C | $26,814 | $305 | $58,386 | 1.4 yrs |
| 681 | Walla Walla University Washington | C | $26,842 | $305 | $61,885 | 1.2 yrs |
| 682 | Concordia College - Moorhead | C | $26,847 | $305 | $59,317 | 1.4 yrs |
| 683 | Bryant University Rhode Island | A | $26,849 | $305 | $90,008 | 0.5 yrs |
| 684 | University of Indianapolis | D | $26,864 | $305 | $53,610 | 1.9 yrs |
| 685 | Suffolk University | B | $26,889 | $306 | $67,506 | 1 yrs |
| 686 | Capital University Ohio | D | $26,889 | $306 | $54,143 | 1.8 yrs |
| 687 | Hampshire College | F | $26,893 | $306 | $46,938 | 3.6 yrs |
| 688 | Saint Michael's College Vermont | C | $26,922 | $306 | $61,317 | 1.2 yrs |
| 689 | Roger Williams University Rhode Island | B | $26,940 | $306 | $70,266 | 0.9 yrs |
| 690 | Valparaiso University Indiana | C | $26,942 | $306 | $63,191 | 1.1 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.