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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 181 | University of Maryland, College Park Maryland | A | $19,000 | $216 | $82,860 | 0.4 yrs |
| 182 | Franklin and Marshall College Pennsylvania | A | $19,000 | $216 | $76,124 | 0.5 yrs |
| 183 | Northern Arizona University Arizona | C | $19,000 | $216 | $54,384 | 1.3 yrs |
| 184 | University at Buffalo New York | B | $19,000 | $216 | $70,814 | 0.6 yrs |
| 185 | Dickinson College Pennsylvania | B | $19,000 | $216 | $70,204 | 0.6 yrs |
| 186 | Louisiana State University at Alexandria Louisiana | F | $19,000 | $216 | $42,205 | 7.1 yrs |
| 187 | University of Utah Utah | B | $19,000 | $216 | $67,170 | 0.7 yrs |
| 188 | University of Nebraska, Omaha Nebraska | C | $19,000 | $216 | $53,909 | 1.3 yrs |
| 189 | University of Southern Maine Maine | D | $19,060 | $217 | $49,958 | 1.8 yrs |
| 190 | New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology New Mexico | A | $19,085 | $217 | $76,489 | 0.5 yrs |
| 191 | University of Alaska - Southeast Alaska | D | $19,111 | $217 | $48,475 | 2.1 yrs |
| 192 | university of illinois springfield Illinois | C | $19,128 | $217 | $57,103 | 1.1 yrs |
| 193 | Colby College Maine | A | $19,157 | $218 | $80,490 | 0.5 yrs |
| 194 | Santa Clara University California | A | $19,162 | $218 | $109,183 | 0.3 yrs |
| 195 | Texas Woman's University Texas | C | $19,218 | $219 | $56,544 | 1.1 yrs |
| 196 | University of North Texas Texas | C | $19,250 | $219 | $57,010 | 1.1 yrs |
| 197 | East Tennessee State University Tennessee | F | $19,442 | $221 | $44,859 | 3.6 yrs |
| 198 | University of Nevada, Las Vegas Nevada | C | $19,450 | $221 | $55,037 | 1.3 yrs |
| 199 | University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Tennessee | C | $19,500 | $222 | $51,151 | 1.7 yrs |
| 200 | Lipscomb University Tennessee | C | $19,500 | $222 | $55,541 | 1.2 yrs |
| 201 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Michigan | A | $19,500 | $222 | $83,648 | 0.4 yrs |
| 202 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Illinois | A | $19,500 | $222 | $81,054 | 0.5 yrs |
| 203 | Southern Methodist University Texas | A | $19,500 | $222 | $78,354 | 0.5 yrs |
| 204 | Emporia State University Kansas | D | $19,500 | $222 | $47,601 | 2.4 yrs |
| 205 | George Mason University Virginia | A | $19,500 | $222 | $76,343 | 0.5 yrs |
| 206 | University of Nebraska Kearney Nebraska | D | $19,500 | $222 | $50,105 | 1.8 yrs |
| 207 | University of Maryland, Baltimore County Maryland | B | $19,500 | $222 | $69,960 | 0.6 yrs |
| 208 | University of Colorado Boulder Colorado | B | $19,500 | $222 | $69,738 | 0.7 yrs |
| 209 | University of North Carolina at Wilmington North Carolina | C | $19,500 | $222 | $54,967 | 1.3 yrs |
| 210 | Eastern Washington University Washington | C | $19,500 | $222 | $57,897 | 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.