MSU Grads Owe $23k — 66% More than Harvard Students, Study Shows

Article courtesy of TuitionHero

A new study reveals which colleges leave students in the greatest debt after graduation.
Michigan State University takes fourth place, leaving students with $23,250 median debt as they leave college.
According to the study, Ivy League schools send students into the working world with far less debt than many state universities, challenging popular belief.

College graduates across America face a wildly uneven playing field when it comes to student loan debt, with some leaving campus owing twice what their peers at other schools must repay.

A new study by student finance experts at TuitionHero analyzed median graduate debt data from the US Department for Education (2022-23) for the top 100 colleges in Forbes’ top colleges report. According to the data, graduates of Michigan State University are among those coming off the worst, with a median graduate debt of $23,250.

Top five colleges where graduates are leaving with the most debt

Rank	Institution	Median Graduate Debt
1	Bucknell University	$27,000
2	Villanova University	$25,874
3	Northeastern University	$24,250
=4	Boston University	$23,250
=4	Michigan State University	$23,250

Top five colleges where graduates are leaving with the least debt

Rank	Institution	Median Graduate Debt
1	Wellesley College	$10,000
2	Johns Hopkins University	$10,250
3	Princeton University	$10,320
4	Brown University	$11,428
5	Brigham Young University	$11,069

Ivy Schools Beat Public Universities on Debt

The study exposes a counterintuitive reality in college financing: students at elite Ivy League schools typically graduate with much less debt than those at public universities. Harvard University graduates leave owing $14,000 in median debt, while Michigan State University students finish with $23,250 – 66% higher.

This surprising pattern largely stems from the massive endowments elite private universities maintain, enabling financial aid packages state schools cannot possibly match. Many top private universities now offer no-loan guarantees for students whose family incomes fall below certain thresholds.

“The data shows a reality that runs counter to what many families believe about college costs,” said Jesse Villanueva, CEO of TuitionHero. “Students at prestigious private universities often graduate with less debt than those at public institutions because of differences in financial aid policies.”

“Families should look beyond the sticker price when weighing college options. Schools with higher published tuition rates may actually cost less for many students after grants and scholarships,” Villanueva added.

State universities advertise lower tuition rates but typically possess fewer financial aid resources, forcing students to borrow more. University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates carry median debt of $20,484, nearly twice the $12,975 faced by Yale University graduates.

Debt Geography: Where Student Loans Hit Hardest

The debt distribution across America shows distinct regional patterns. Boston stands out as the epicenter of student debt, with three major schools – Northeastern University ($24,250), Boston University ($23,250), and Boston College ($19,000) – all ranking among the 25 worst schools for median graduate debt.

California presents a sharp contrast, with schools consistently producing graduates carrying modest debt loads. The University of California system maintains reasonable debt figures across all campuses, including flagship UC Berkeley where graduates leave with median obligations of just $13,000.

Sources:

Methodology:

Data was analyzed from median debt figures for graduates at 100 leading U.S. colleges and universities (2022-23). The figures represent the median federal debt of completers who graduated from the institutions.

Schools by Median Graduate Debt

Rank	Institution	Median Graduate Debt
1	Bucknell University	27,000
2	Villanova University	25,874
3	Northeastern University	24,250
=4	Boston University	23,250
=4	Michigan State University	23,250
5	Trinity College	23,000
6	Trinity University	22,954
7	Lehigh University	21,960
8	Carnegie Mellon University	21,750
9	Georgia Institute of Technology	21,672
=10	Clemson University	21,500
=10	Columbia University	21,500
=10	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	21,500
=10	University of Connecticut	21,500
=10	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	21,500
=10	Wake Forest University	21,500
11	University of Rochester	21,000
=12	New York University	20,500
=12	The University of Texas at Austin	20,500
13	University of Wisconsin-Madison	20,484
14	George Washington University	20,449
15	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	20,121
16	Babson College	20,000
17	Ohio State University	19,976
18	Indiana University-Bloomington	19,509
=19	Franklin W Olin College of Engineering	19,500
=19	Purdue University	19,500
=19	Southern Methodist University	19,500
=19	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	19,500
=19	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	19,500
=19	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	19,500
=19	Washington and Lee University	19,500
20	Santa Clara University	19,162
=21	Boston College	19,000
=21	University of Maryland-College Park	19,000
=21	University of Notre Dame	19,000
=21	University of Utah	19,000
22	Davidson College	18,688
=23	Binghamton University	18,500
=23	Bowdoin College	18,500
=23	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	18,500
=23	University of Georgia	18,500
=23	William & Mary	18,500
24	Emory University	18,250
25	Stony Brook University	18,228
=26	Barnard College	18,000
=26	Florida State University	18,000
=26	University of Southern California	18,000
27	Texas A & M University-College Station	17,804
=28	Dartmouth College	17,500
=28	Grinnell College	17,500
=28	Swarthmore College	17,500
=28	University of California-Riverside	17,500
=28	University of Miami	17,500
=28	University of Virginia	17,500
=28	Washington University in St Louis	17,500
=28	Hamilton College	17,000
=28	Wesleyan University	17,000
29	Tufts University	16,250
30	Lafayette College	16,000
31	University of Pennsylvania	15,715
=32	Georgetown University	15,500
=32	University of California-San Diego	15,500
=33	Colgate University	15,000
=33	Northwestern University	15,000
=33	San Diego State University	15,000
=33	The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art	15,000
=33	University of California-Irvine	15,000
=33	University of Chicago	15,000
=33	University of Florida	15,000
34	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	14,768
35	University of Washington-Seattle	14,615
36	California State University-Long Beach	14,289
37	Bates College	14,275
=38	Cornell University	14,000
=38	Harvard University	14,000
=38	University of California-Los Angeles	14,000
=38	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	14,000
=38	Vanderbilt University	14,000
39	University of California-Santa Barbara	13,993
40	Middlebury College	13,857
=41	California State University-Fullerton	13,750
=41	Amherst College	13,740
42	Haverford College	13,621
43	Claremont McKenna College	13,500
=44	Duke University	13,000
=44	University of California-Berkeley	13,000
=44	University of California-Davis	13,000
45	Yale University	12,975
46	Williams College	12,761
47	Stanford University	12,000
48	Pomona College	11,782
49	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College	11,512
50	Brown University	11,428
51	Brigham Young University	11,069
52	Rice University	11,000
53	Princeton University	10,320
54	Johns Hopkins University	10,250
55	Wellesley College	10,000

Discover more from Michigan Mama News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

MSU Grads Owe $23k — 66% More than Harvard Students, Study Shows

Top five colleges where graduates are leaving with the most debt

Top five colleges where graduates are leaving with the least debt

Ivy Schools Beat Public Universities on Debt