Ranked

891 uS universities whose graduates repay fastest

Share of borrowers whose loan balance is falling three years after leaving — the clearest published signal that a degree is being paid off rather than deferred.

#UniversityIn-stateCost of attendance BorrowPaying downSATAcceptance
1 Vassar College Poughkeepsie, New York $71,030 $87,419 39% 93% 1494 19%
2 University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana $65,025 $83,271 25% 93% 1520 11%
3 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, Indiana $58,649 $77,890 41% 93% 1427 77%
4 Whitman College Walla Walla, Washington $64,050 $78,092 54% 93% 1410 38%
5 Carleton College Northfield, Minnesota $68,892 $84,893 43% 92% 1517 20%
6 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts $62,396 $82,730 7% 92% 1560 5%
7 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York $64,081 $82,404 51% 92% 1456 63%
8 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, Massachusetts $60,965 $78,679 52% 92% — 60%
9 Bentley University Waltham, Massachusetts $61,000 $79,548 43% 91% 1352 45%
10 Tufts University Medford, Massachusetts $70,704 $88,300 19% 91% 1513 11%
11 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania $66,246 $83,654 34% 91% 1546 12%
12 Lafayette College Easton, Pennsylvania $65,398 $83,133 20% 91% 1424 31%
13 Babson College Wellesley, Massachusetts $57,152 $80,192 27% 91% 1457 17%
14 Connecticut College New London, Connecticut $67,242 $84,623 35% 91% 1432 37%
15 Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado $21,914 $40,560 32% 91% 1412 61%
16 Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, New Jersey $63,462 $79,790 53% 91% 1446 48%
17 Bowdoin College Brunswick, Maine $67,832 $85,100 8% 90% 1520 7%
18 Villanova University Villanova, Pennsylvania $67,776 $84,793 35% 90% 1460 27%
19 Stanford University Stanford, California $65,910 $87,833 6% 90% 1553 4%
20 Hamilton College Clinton, New York $68,960 $84,230 29% 90% 1506 14%
21 College of Saint Benedict Saint Joseph, Minnesota $55,756 $68,453 62% 90% 1151 92%
22 Bucknell University Lewisburg, Pennsylvania $67,812 $83,756 35% 90% 1410 29%
23 Wellesley College Wellesley, Massachusetts $67,176 $86,290 16% 90% 1520 14%
24 Gettysburg College Gettysburg, Pennsylvania $66,640 $81,960 48% 90% 1379 39%
25 Duke University Durham, North Carolina $68,758 $87,072 14% 89% 1548 6%
26 Macalester College Saint Paul, Minnesota $68,104 $82,991 36% 89% 1440 29%
27 Grinnell College Grinnell, Iowa $68,106 $83,440 13% 89% 1486 15%
28 Colorado College Colorado Springs, Colorado $70,734 $86,921 26% 89% 1365 18%
29 Lehigh University Bethlehem, Pennsylvania $64,980 $80,856 37% 88% 1440 26%
30 Dickinson College Carlisle, Pennsylvania $65,650 $82,902 39% 88% 1391 42%
31 Georgetown University Washington, District of Columbia $68,017 $88,741 18% 88% 1487 13%
32 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, North Carolina $67,642 $87,499 14% 88% 1475 22%
33 Santa Clara University Santa Clara, California $61,293 $82,026 37% 88% 1426 48%
34 Washington & Lee University Lexington, Virginia $68,045 $87,000 14% 88% 1498 14%
35 Wheaton College Wheaton, Illinois $45,546 $59,263 43% 88% 1380 87%
36 Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey Monterey, California — — 58% 88% — —
37 Middlebury College Middlebury, Vermont $67,600 $85,880 23% 88% 1508 11%
38 Bates College Lewiston, Maine $66,590 $83,532 14% 88% 1468 13%
39 Wesleyan University Middletown, Connecticut $70,342 $89,020 16% 88% 1501 16%
40 Occidental College Los Angeles, California $66,274 $84,800 37% 88% 1452 44%

Questions

Best repayment in the US: which university leads?
Vassar College — 93% of borrowers paying their balance down.
Where does this data come from?
The US Department of Education College Scorecard, which publishes what institutions charge, what students borrow and repay, and the test scores of admitted students. Nothing here is estimated — universities without a published figure are left out of the ranking.
Is the cheapest university the best value?
Not necessarily. Price is one half of value; the other is what graduates earn and whether they clear the debt. Each university page links to its earnings and repayment record.
All university data Cheapest tuition Most expensive Fewest borrowers Highest SAT Highest acceptance

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard. Universities without a published figure for the ranked measure are not listed.