Overall Debt to Earnings Data
List of Institutions (sorted by debt to earnings ratio)
| Institution | Sector | State | Average debt/Earnings ratio, highest interest rate (6.8%) | Median debt | Median earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing |
nfp4yr
|
IL | 2.77 | $15,000 | $57,715 |
| College of the Sequoias |
pub2yr
|
CA | 2.77 | $5,625 | $28,063 |
| SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry |
pub4yr
|
NY | 2.76 | $12,000 | $46,306 |
| Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Ponce |
nfp4yr
|
PR | 2.76 | $5,750 | $22,204 |
| Northwestern Health Sciences University |
nfp2yr
|
MN | 2.75 | $7,718 | $38,692 |
| MCPHS University |
nfp4yr
|
MA | 2.75 | $25,000 | $96,681 |
| Loma Linda University |
nfp4yr
|
CA | 2.74 | $20,082 | $78,124 |
| St. Joseph's College of Nursing |
nfp2yr
|
NY | 2.74 | $12,000 | $60,537 |
| Covenant School of Nursing and Allied Health |
nfp2yr
|
TX | 2.72 | $12,971 | $65,789 |
| CUNY Brooklyn College |
pub4yr
|
NY | 2.71 | $11,000 | $43,178 |
| Pasadena City College |
pub2yr
|
CA | 2.71 | $6,151 | $31,317 |
| Boston College |
nfp4yr
|
MA | 2.71 | $18,000 | $70,858 |
| Amherst College |
nfp4yr
|
MA | 2.71 | $13,800 | $54,333 |
| Brigham Young University-Hawaii |
nfp4yr
|
HI | 2.70 | $9,839 | $38,880 |
| Santa Clara University |
nfp4yr
|
CA | 2.69 | $19,500 | $77,174 |
Debt to Earnings Data by Sector
Overall Debt to Earnings Summary
- Under the Department of Education’s Gainful Employment NPRM, an institution’s debt to earnings ratio was considered “passing” if less than or equal to 8%, and “failing” if greater than 8%.
- Data reflect institutions with 50+ students in the reported median earnings cohort. The debt to earnings ratio is calculated using annual earnings (not discretionary) and the highest reported interest rate of 6.8%.
- The overall debt to earnings ratio, regardless of sector, is 6.52%.
Analysis of Institutions with the Lowest Debt to Earnings Ratios
Of Institutions with the Lowest Debt to Earning Ratios, 20 Institutions with the Most Borrower
| Institution | State | Sector | Average debt/Earnings ratio, gainful employment formula; Earnings after entry, highest interest rate (6.8%) | Number of undergraduate students awarded federal student loans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Governors University | UT | nfp4yr | 2.31 | 46907 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | MI | pub4yr | 3.18 | 8339 |
| University of California-San Diego | CA | pub4yr | 3.09 | 7833 |
| University of California-Davis | CA | pub4yr | 2.57 | 7378 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus | WA | pub4yr | 2.85 | 6177 |
| University of California-Irvine | CA | pub4yr | 3.05 | 5940 |
| San Jose State University | CA | pub4yr | 2.87 | 5294 |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | CA | pub4yr | 3.12 | 4882 |
| University of California-Berkeley | CA | pub4yr | 2.18 | 4560 |
| University of Southern California | CA | nfp4yr | 3.07 | 4513 |
| University of California-Santa Barbara | CA | pub4yr | 3.00 | 3897 |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus | VA | pub4yr | 3.00 | 3896 |
| University of California-Los Angeles | CA | pub4yr | 2.88 | 3871 |
| Brigham Young University-Provo | UT | nfp4yr | 2.48 | 3818 |
| Cornell University | NY | nfp4yr | 1.96 | 3779 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | NC | pub4yr | 3.03 | 3775 |
| Excelsior College | NY | nfp4yr | 2.24 | 3600 |
| California State University-East Bay | CA | pub4yr | 3.14 | 3584 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | GA | pub4yr | 3.01 | 3506 |
| Boston College | MA | nfp4yr | 2.71 | 3383 |
Analysis of Institutions with the Highest Debt to Earnings Ratios
Of Institutions with the Highest Debt to Earning Ratios, 20 Institutions with the
Most Borrowers
| Institution | State | Sector | Average debt/Earnings ratio, gainful employment formula; Earnings after entry, highest interest rate (6.8%) | Number of undergraduate students awarded federal student loans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | fp4yr | 11.60 | 42527 |
| Colorado Technical University-Colorado Springs | CO | fp4yr | 10.96 | 17738 |
| Purdue University Global | IN | pub4yr | 9.02 | 17152 |
| Ashford University | CA | fp4yr | 12.82 | 15219 |
| Full Sail University | FL | fp4yr | 10.23 | 13267 |
| Post University | CT | fp4yr | 10.67 | 9533 |
| American InterContinental University | AZ | fp4yr | 11.81 | 8398 |
| North Carolina A & T State University | NC | pub4yr | 8.84 | 7447 |
| Prairie View A & M University | TX | pub4yr | 8.70 | 5687 |
| Los Angeles Film School | CA | fp2yr | 12.10 | 5074 |
| Southern University and A & M College | LA | pub4yr | 10.28 | 4227 |
| Grambling State University | LA | pub4yr | 14.29 | 4136 |
| North Carolina Central University | NC | pub4yr | 9.83 | 3891 |
| Jackson State University | MS | pub4yr | 10.58 | 3713 |
| Albany State University | GA | pub2yr | 12.46 | 3710 |
| Texas Southern University | TX | pub4yr | 10.19 | 3399 |
| Alabama A & M University | AL | pub4yr | 11.50 | 3337 |
| Norfolk State University | VA | pub4yr | 9.92 | 3234 |
| Academy of Art University | CA | fp4yr | 10.73 | 3024 |
200 Institutions with the Highest Debt to Earnings Ratios Sector Analysis
200 Institutions with the Highest Debt to Earnings Rates
- Under the Department of Education’s Gainful Employment NPRM, an institution’s debt to earnings ratio was considered “passing” if less than or equal to 8%, and “failing” if greater than 8%.
- Data reflect 200 institutions with 50+ students in the reported median earnings cohort and the highest debt to earnings ratio. The debt to earnings ratio is calculated using annual earnings (not discretionary) and the highest reported interest rate of 6.8%
- The overall D/E ratio among the 200 institutions with the highest debt to earnings ratio, regardless of sector, is 11%
- The debt to earnings metric is problematic for wide swaths of higher education.
- HBCUs struggle with the debt to earnings ratio with more than half (63) of HBCUs included in the weakest 200 list.
- Specialty institutions that focus on fields such as the fine arts are disproportionately represented in the weakest 200 list.