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 $57,146 against $22,500 of debt.
| # | University | Grade | You borrow | Monthly | You earn | Debt clears in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 121 | Dartmouth College New Hampshire | A | $17,500 | $199 | $97,434 | 0.3 yrs |
| 122 | University of Virginia Virginia | A | $17,500 | $199 | $86,863 | 0.4 yrs |
| 123 | Grinnell College Iowa | B | $17,500 | $199 | $62,830 | 0.8 yrs |
| 124 | Swarthmore College Pennsylvania | A | $17,500 | $199 | $80,257 | 0.4 yrs |
| 125 | University of Miami Florida | A | $17,500 | $199 | $75,328 | 0.5 yrs |
| 126 | University of California, Riverside California | B | $17,500 | $199 | $67,699 | 0.6 yrs |
| 127 | University of Texas at Arlington Texas | B | $17,527 | $199 | $63,199 | 0.7 yrs |
| 128 | Smith College Massachusetts | B | $17,550 | $200 | $64,027 | 0.7 yrs |
| 129 | Florida Gulf Coast University Florida | C | $17,622 | $200 | $54,560 | 1.2 yrs |
| 130 | East Central University Oklahoma | F | $17,671 | $201 | $44,962 | 3.3 yrs |
| 131 | University of Texas Permian Basin Texas | C | $17,750 | $202 | $56,073 | 1.1 yrs |
| 132 | University of North Georgia Georgia | C | $17,750 | $202 | $50,135 | 1.7 yrs |
| 133 | Texas A&M University - College Station Texas | A | $17,804 | $202 | $72,097 | 0.6 yrs |
| 134 | Lynn University Florida | D | $17,940 | $204 | $49,006 | 1.9 yrs |
| 135 | University of South Florida Florida | C | $17,988 | $205 | $57,743 | 1 yrs |
| 136 | University of Texas at El Paso Texas | C | $18,000 | $205 | $50,923 | 1.6 yrs |
| 137 | University of Southern California California | A | $18,000 | $205 | $92,498 | 0.3 yrs |
| 138 | Florida State University Florida | B | $18,000 | $205 | $61,675 | 0.8 yrs |
| 139 | Barnard College New York | A | $18,000 | $205 | $80,516 | 0.4 yrs |
| 140 | University of Wyoming Wyoming | C | $18,000 | $205 | $56,880 | 1 yrs |
| 141 | Gallaudet University District of Columbia | F | $18,000 | $205 | $43,101 | 5 yrs |
| 142 | University of Texas at Dallas Texas | B | $18,000 | $205 | $68,227 | 0.6 yrs |
| 143 | Athens State University Alabama | C | $18,051 | $205 | $50,273 | 1.7 yrs |
| 144 | Washburn University Kansas | D | $18,127 | $206 | $49,774 | 1.8 yrs |
| 145 | University of Central Florida Florida | C | $18,190 | $207 | $58,308 | 1 yrs |
| 146 | University of Houston Texas | B | $18,194 | $207 | $62,377 | 0.8 yrs |
| 147 | Montana State University - Billings Montana | F | $18,209 | $207 | $44,296 | 3.8 yrs |
| 148 | Emory University Georgia | A | $18,250 | $208 | $80,137 | 0.5 yrs |
| 149 | Yeshiva University New York | A | $18,250 | $208 | $71,353 | 0.6 yrs |
| 150 | Colorado College Colorado | B | $18,257 | $208 | $65,222 | 0.7 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.