In the world of student loan debt, some colleges are doing a pretty good job of keeping it under control and some have simply dropped the leash and let the dog run amok. To help you get a better idea of where certain colleges stand, we’ve put together a list of the top schools where students borrow the least amount of student loans and the top schools where students borrow the most, according to recently released data from U.S. News & World Report.
The data takes a look at the percentage of students who borrowed at a particular school and what the average student debt load was. The data doesn’t examine for-profit schools, which produce some of the highest debt loads in the nation — as well as the highest default rates. The average debt figures also aren’t broken down by things like how much is due to higher out-of-state tuition or international student tuition, but the numbers are a good indication of how much effort a school places in minimizing the weight of student loans that’s placed on the backs of its students.
Colleges with the Least Debt From Student Loans
While these colleges produced some pretty affordable student loan numbers, some of the schools had in excess of 70 percent of students borrowing loans to pay for college.
1. Alice Lloyd College (Kentucky)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 32 percent
Average student debt: $3,108
2. Princeton University (New Jersey)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 24 percent
Average student debt: $4,385
3. Anna Maria College (Massachusetts)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 77 percent
Average student debt: $5,152
4. College of the Ozarks (Missouri)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 11 percent
Average student debt: $5,389
5. Berea College (Kentucky)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 73 percent
Average student debt: $5,836
6. Reinhardt University (Georgia)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 62 percent
Average student debt: $6,131
7. Clearwater Christian College (Florida)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 51 percent
Average student debt: $6,365
8. California State University, Bakersfield
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 72 percent
Average student debt: $6,730
9. East-West University (Illinois)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 80 percent
Average student debt: $7,000
Colleges With the Most Debt From Student Loans
Not only do these schools produce graduates with debt burdens equal to the price of a couple of new cars, but they double-down with some of the highest rates of student borrowing in higher education.
1. Eastern Nazarene College (Massachusetts)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 87 percent
Average student debt: $51,336
2. Ohio Northern University
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 85 percent
Average student debt: $48,886
3. Holy Names University (California)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 79 percent
Average student debt: $48,833
4. University of New England (Maine)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 88 percent
Average student debt: $47,293
5. Mount Ida College (Massachusetts)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 80 percent
Average student debt: $46,393
6. La Salle University (Pennsylvania)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 84 percent
Average student debt: $45,888
7. Kettering University (Michigan)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 78 percent
Average student debt: $45,570
8. St. Joseph’s University (Pennsylvania)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 62 percent
Average student debt: $45,530
9. Clark Atlanta University (Georgia)
Percent of 2012 graduates who borrowed: 93 percent
Average student debt: $45,227
Overall, among the 1,028 schools that submitted data to U.S. News & World Report, about 68 percent of graduates borrowed student loans in 2010. The average student who borrowed took out $25,000 in college loans.
Last year, students borrowed over $1 billion in student loans for the first time in history and total outstanding student loan debt — which is now nearing $1 trillion — surpassed total outstanding credit card debt for the first time ever.
