DePauw student debt second-lowest in state

An analysis by LendEDU finds that students at DePauw University graduate with the second lowest level of debt among all Indiana colleges.

“Using data licensed from Peterson’s, we calculated the average student loan debt per borrower for the Class of 2016,” Jeff Gitlen, content marketing analyst for LendEDU, reported. “This is the most recent and accurate data available for the Class of 2016.”

The analyst adds, “Your school is doing a great job at helping students afford their college education without having to take on the significant amount of student debt that holds back so many young adults today.”

The reports finds that DePauw graduates average $22,770 in student loan debt, second only to Indiana University Southeast’s $22,612 (the Indiana average is $29,307).

Fifty percent of DePauw students leave college with some amount of educational debt -- a 2.04 percent yearly increase -- compared with a statewide average of 57 percent.

According to LendEDU’s College Student Loan Debt Rankings by state for 2017, Indiana University Southeast leaves the average student loan borrower with $22,612 in educational debt, the lowest average in Indiana.

Indiana University Southeast’s debt per borrower figure is down by 14.56 percent year-over-year. Interestingly, the amount of graduates that leave the institution with student loan debt has increased by 10.94 percent year-over-year so that is now 71 percent of all graduates.

Even though its average debt per borrower figure increased by 4.12 percent year-over-year, Calumet College of Saint Joseph had the third lowest figure in the state. At that school, the average student loan borrower owes $24,431.

With an average student loan debt per borrower statistic that is the second lowest among public institutions in Indiana, the University of Southern Indiana comes in at No. 4 on the LendEDU list. After attending the University of Southern Indiana, the average educational debtor can expect to owe $24,762 in student loan debt.

Saddling the typical student loan borrower with $25,675 in student loan debt, Indiana University of Kokomo finishes fifth on LendEDU’s list of least average student loan debt.

Earlham College, where 60 percent of graduates have educational debt, the average student debtor owes $25,784 in student loan debt. That amounts to sixth lowest in Indiana and the third lowest for private colleges in the state.

Indiana University South Bend’s average student loan debt per borrower figure amounted to $27,306 in 2017. After lowering its average debt per borrower figure by 6.69 percent from last year, Indiana University South Bend comes in at number seven on LendEDU’s list.

The average student debtor can expect to owe $27,379 in educational debt if they choose to attend Indiana University East. That amount was the eighth lowest in the state even though it signified a year-over-year increase of 6.46 percent.

Securing the ninth spot on the list is Purdue University, which gave the average student debtor $27,530 in student loan debt. Purdue’s average debt per borrower figure is down by .65 percent from last year, as is the number of graduates that leave with student loan debt, which is down by 4.17 percent year-over-year.

Finally, Goshen College rounds out the list of the Indiana colleges that give the average student debtor the least amount of educational debt. The average borrower from Goshen can expect to owe $27,534 in student loan debt, which actually marks a 8.39 percent year-over-year increase.

As a whole, the state of Indiana’s average debt per borrower figure ended up being $29,307, which was a 1.58 percent year-over-year increase.

Indiana’s collective average debt per borrower figure was the 19th highest in the U.S. Further, 57 percent of Indiana graduates can expect to owe some amount of educational debt.