<p>"... the report represents 83% of all bachelor's degree recipients in the 2012-2013 academic year. Here are the schools included in the report whose undergraduates had the lowest average loan balances upon graduation." ...</p>
<p>A few surprises here.</p>
<p>I’d like to know which colleges have the highest deferral or default rate…I thought there was a search stat for that…but sadly I can’t find it anymore!</p>
<p>These may help you with default rates on federal student loans.</p>
<p><a href=“https://studentaid.ed.gov/about/data-center/student/default”>https://studentaid.ed.gov/about/data-center/student/default</a>
<a href=“Official Cohort Default Rates for Schools”>http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/defaultmanagement/cdr.html</a>
<a href=“https://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/defaultmanagement/search_cohort_3yr2011CY.cfm”>https://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/defaultmanagement/search_cohort_3yr2011CY.cfm</a></p>
<p>I would be curious if they’re including Parent PLUS loans and private loans in these numbers. Every family I know who has sent a child to Princeton has accumulated much more than 5.5k in debt. Of course some of these folks graduated 3 to 5 years ago, and the numbers here are averages, which are certainly brought down by lower income families getting very reduced costs, but that loan figure still seems improbably low to me. </p>
<p>Yes, Halfempty, most of the data that is publicized about average student debt does not include PLUS loans. PLUS loans can particularly become a problem when they interfere with a parent’s retirement.</p>
<p>One of the private colleges on that list (Keystone College) is a small moderately priced career-oriented private college. It used to be a junior college.</p>
<p>I’m surprised to see Howard University on that list.</p>
<p>@Charliesch, I thought the same thing about Howard, but they do have generous scholarships for top students (and Howard draws many of those), so I suppose that can be a factor. Unfortunately, they only offered loans to my D. :(</p>
<p>The Kiplinger “best value” rankings show average debt at graduation for residential “national” universities and LACs. Those numbers (in comparison to your own state flagship’s) would be more relevant, to the typical CC poster, than the numbers for commuter colleges in distant states.</p>
<p><a href=“Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger”>http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-public-colleges/index.php</a>
<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php”>http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php</a></p>
<p>I’ve wondered for a few years about the “average debt” figures I read. Is that just for the students that take the loans? Or is there “zero” factored in for each student that does not take a loan. </p>
<p>Simplified example - is average debt $20K or $10K ?
<p>Parent PLUS debt is not student debt, therefore is not included. Private education debt is not tracked by the Dept of Ed (not yet, anyway … ).</p>
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<p>You’d have to read the fine print, describing the calculation method, for each data source.
Unfortunately, for the Kiplinger numbers, I cannot find any description of their calculation method/source in their methodology description. However, Kiplinger’s figure for Princeton’s average debt at graduation ($5,096) equals the figure reported in Princeton’s 2012-13 Common Data Set, line H5 (“average per-undergraduate-borrower cumulative principal borrowed”). This evidently represents only students who do borrow (so, no “zero” is factored in for each student who does not borrow). Presumably, all of Kiplinger’s debt figures come from the same CDS, line H5 source.
I would think many other student debt reports draw from that same source.</p>