Many colleges with high student loan repayment rates educate mostly wealthy students who have families that can help them repay their loans. So, naturally, colleges that serve more low-income students tend to have lower student loan repayment rates. But a new analysis that adjusts loan repayment rates for the demographics of colleges' student bodies shows that some schools with lots of students from disadvantaged backgrounds nevertheless produce graduates with high student loan repayment rates.
[Learn more about paying for college.]
U.S.News & World Report winnowed through the analysis by Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Finaid.org, to find colleges that have student bodies in which at least 20 percent of the students are eligible for Pell Grants (which typically means they come from families earning less than $40,000 a year), graduation rates of at least 50 percent, and student loan repayment rates higher than would be expected for their populations.
[Find out which colleges have lower student loan repayment rates than their demographics would predict.]
Students are considered in repayment if they have left school and have reduced the principal of their federal student loans by at least $1.
The colleges with loan repayment rates that most exceed their predicted rate are at the top of the list.
| School | School type | Graduation rate | 2009 loan repayment rate | % of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants | Overperformance* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Science Boston, MA |
Private | 68% | 83% | 49% | 27% |
| University of the Sciences in Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA |
Private | 65% | 79% | 33% | 26% |
| Polytechnic University Brooklyn, NY |
Private | 53% | 75% | 40% | 26% |
| University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA |
Public | 90% | 73% | 29% | 24% |
| Franklin College Franklin, IN |
Private | 56% | 74% | 25% | 23% |
| School of Visual Arts New York, NY |
Private for-profit | 67% | 63% | 23% | 22% |
| University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA |
Public | 85% | 71% | 31% | 22% |
| University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA |
Public | 81% | 68% | 25% | 22% |
| University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA |
Public | 64% | 65% | 39% | 22% |
| Laboratory Institute of Merchandising New York, NY |
Private for-profit | 62% | 61% | 22% | 21% |
| Dordt College Sioux Center, IA |
Private | 69% | 92% | 24% | 21% |
| Mount St Mary's College Los Angeles, CA |
Private | 59% | 57% | 41% | 20% |
| University of California-Davis Davis, CA |
Public | 81% | 69% | 33% | 19% |
| California Maritime Academy Vallejo, CA |
Public | 62% | 80% | 22% | 19% |
| California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA |
Public | 50% | 66% | 31% | 18% |
| Northwestern College Orange City, IA |
Private | 60% | 88% | 30% | 18% |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ |
Public | 55% | 69% | 25% | 17% |
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY |
Public | 58% | 66% | 33% | 17% |
| California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA |
Public | 55% | 66% | 30% | 16% |
| St Marys University San Antonio, TX |
Private | 59% | 54% | 37% | 16% |
| Wartburg College Waverly, IA |
Private | 64% | 85% | 23% | 16% |
| The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX |
Public | 78% | 71% | 21% | 16% |
| University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA |
Public | 89% | 65% | 32% | 16% |
| Clarkson University Potsdam, NY |
Private | 70% | 84% | 24% | 15% |
| University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA |
Public | 72% | 69% | 25% | 14% |
| Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA |
Private | 72% | 82% | 21% | 13% |
| Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI |
Private | 55% | 81% | 20% | 13% |
| University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA |
Public | 81% | 68% | 23% | 13% |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ |
Public | 71% | 67% | 24% | 13% |
| Vermont Technical College Randolph Center, VT |
Public | 52% | 79% | 21% | 12% |
| St. John's University-New York Queens, NY |
Private | 60% | 65% | 27% | 12% |
| University of Wisconsin-River Falls River Falls, WI |
Public | 55% | 79% | 21% | 12% |
| University of the Pacific Stockton, CA |
Private | 60% | 63% | 28% | 12% |
| Loras College Dubuque, IA |
Private | 60% | 82% | 21% | 12% |
| College of Mount Saint Vincent Bronx, NY |
Private | 57% | 63% | 34% | 11% |
| Augustana College Sioux Falls, SD |
Private | 68% | 81% | 21% | 11% |
| University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI |
Public | 59% | 78% | 23% | 11% |
| Biola University La Mirada, CA |
Private | 70% | 71% | 22% | 11% |
| Huntington University Huntington, IN |
Private | 60% | 82% | 20% | 11% |
| The Master's College and Seminary Santa Clarita, CA |
Private | 59% | 75% | 22% | 11% |
| Otis College of Art and Design Los Angeles, CA |
Private | 52% | 62% | 37% | 10% |
| Smith College Northampton, MA |
Private | 88% | 70% | 24% | 10% |
| Northwestern College Saint Paul, MN |
Private | 58% | 78% | 21% | 10% |
| Simpson College Indianola, IA |
Private | 68% | 79% | 21% | 10% |
| Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO |
Public | 61% | 75% | 22% | 10% |
| College of St Catherine Saint Paul, MN |
Private | 53% | 72% | 29% | 10% |
| University of Mary Bismarck, ND |
Private | 57% | 77% | 27% | 10% |
| Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN |
Public | 52% | 76% | 21% | 10% |
* Overperformance = Actual loan repayment rate minus predicted rate.
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Reader Comments Read all comments (2)
Craigie of IN 11:01AM October 16, 2010
Julie Michener of MN 9:06AM October 06, 2010