Updated on 9/14/2010: An earlier version of this story didn’t include all the details of the loan repayment formula.
The federal government's analysis of the student loan repayment rates of more than 8,000 colleges and trade schools has some surprises. Despite recent criticism of liberal arts courses as no longer relevant to today's workers, many traditional liberal arts colleges have higher student loan repayment rates than some business-oriented schools.
[Read about expensive schools that offer lots of financial aid.]
The Department of Education analyzed the total value of the federal student loans taken out by all students who left or graduated college from October 2004 to March 2008. Those who made at least $1 in principal repayment, or who had received a military or school deferment from October 2008 to September 2009 were considered to be repaying. The rate was calculated by dividing by the value of all the loans of those who had left school by the value the loans belonging to the students in repayment. The numbers are controversial, but most of the criticism is coming from schools with low repayment rates
Here is a list of undergraduate colleges with more than 100 borrowers and very high repayment rates.
| School Name | # of students who borrowed | Median Federal Student Debt | Estimated Repayment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Insitute of Technology | 100 | $7,557 | 92% |
| Dordt College | 978 | $11,938 | 92% |
| Medcenter One College of Nursing | 119 | $8,672 | 91% |
| Bellin College of Nursing | 202 | $15,882 | 91% |
| Harvey Mudd College | 273 | $11,477 | 90% |
| Martin Luther College | 549 | $10,250 | 90% |
| Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences | 691 | $41,694 | 90% |
| College of St. Benedict | 1,198 | $12,485 | 89% |
| Gettysburg College | 1,189 | $13,471 | 88% |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 1,897 | $15,918 | 88% |
| Lafayette College | 788 | $13,078 | 88% |
| Williams College | 515 | $7,768 | 88% |
| Northwestern College (IA) | 1,102 | $11,947 | 88% |
| Linfield College - Portland campus | 529 | $19,805 | 88% |
| Cedarville University | 1,724 | $11,598 | 88% |
| Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 1,067 | $12,937 | 88% |
| Colby College | 600 | $11,980 | 87% |
| Colgate University | 749 | $11,032 | 87% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2,488 | $17,262 | 87% |
| Massachusetts Maritime Academy | 616 | $11,562 | 87% |
Source: US Department of Education
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Reader Comments Read all comments (2)
Roy Hoogerhyde of PA 3:02PM October 08, 2010
Mark Venema 10:21AM October 08, 2010