Colleges where graduates have the most student debt

Over the past two years, President Joe Biden has waged a high-profile battle for student loan forgiveness. He announced his initial plan to reduce student debt in August 2022, but any relief the nearly 43 million Americans with student loans felt was short-lived. The Supreme Court blocked those early debt-cancellation measures in 2023, and though Biden was able to initiate a new, more flexible federal loan repayment plan during his time in office, his SAVE system still faces a flurry of legal challenges from Republican-led states.

As questions surrounding student loan forgiveness continue to stagger through the courts, the subject has become a hot-button topic in the 2024 presidential election. Meanwhile, college enrollment continues to decline due to various factors: lack of affordability, fear of taking on debt, and doubts about the value of a degree, among others. 

With this in mind, making an informed decision about which college to attend has taken on an even greater sense of urgency. Stacker ranked the 35 colleges with the highest median debt after graduation, using Department of Education data on more than 5,200 U.S. colleges for the 2020-21 school year. 

This analysis only includes loans accumulated while at the school awarding the graduation credentials—it doesn't include private loans, parent loans, or loans originated at other schools for transfer students. Average annual costs include tuition, housing, materials, and fees, minus the average grants and scholarships awarded. Where cost information was unavailable from the DOE's College Scorecard, costs were retrieved from the schools' respective websites. Annual costs are listed, along with estimated enrollment, but don't factor into the ranking.

Many schools on the list are private for-profit schools, which have long been embroiled in accusations of predatory lending behavior. Religious schools and art and design institutions are also frequent additions. Only one school on the list is a public university.

Read on to find out where college graduates accrue the most student debt.