The University of North Texas at Dallas ranks No. 1 nationally for lowest student debt among public universities, according to LendEDU’s annual student loan debt rankings. The rankings, which were posted earlier this fall, have been revised due to a reporting error by another institution, and UNT Dallas moved from No. 2 to No. 1. Using data licensed from Peterson’s College Data, LendEDU posts its 2018 Student Loan Debt by School by State Report online at: https://lendedu.com/blog/average-student-loan-debt-statistics#PCR.
“UNT Dallas is proud to be No. 1 in the nation for lowest student debt,” said President Bob Mong. “LendEDU’s data-driven study of student loan debt validates who we are – UNT Dallas was built on the belief that every student should have the opportunity to earn a college degree, regardless of their economic background. Our affordable tuition plans ensure that UNTD graduates enter the job market with financial freedom – not saddled with student debt.”
At UNT Dallas, average tuition and fees is less than $9,200 per year, and graduates leave with an average of only $6,927 in loan debt. In Texas, according to LendEDU, the average debt per borrower is $27,001, while across the country, the average borrower from the Class of 2017 graduated with $28,288 in debt, an increase from $27,975 from the Class of 2016.
According to LendEDU’s research, the majority of American college students use student loan debt to pay for college. Student loans are offered primarily by the Department of Education and by a number private banks and lenders. Over the last decade, the rising costs of college has increased the gap between financial aid and cost of attendance. As a result, more students are using student debt to fund their higher educations.
As part of its Student Loan Debt By School By State Report, LendEDU ranks our nation’s colleges and universities to see which schools are leaving graduates the most and the least student loan debt. LendEDU licensed the financial aid data from Peterson’s annual financial aid survey. In the report, LendEDU provided the following information for more than 1,000 four-year public and private institutions:
- Average student loan debt per borrower
- Percentage of graduates with student debt
- Average private student loan debt per borrower
- Percentage of graduates with private student debt
- Overall rank in the United States (from lowest to highest debt per borrower)
- Overall rank in each college’s respective state (from lowest to highest debt per borrower)
- Overall rank among private institutions (from lowest to highest debt per borrower)
- Overall rank among public institutions (from lowest to highest debt per borrower)
- Percent change in average student debt per borrower vs. last year’s data
UNT Dallas has seen a direct correlation between its affordability and record-setting enrollment growth. The fastest-growing 4-year university in Dallas-Fort Worth, UNTD has set an enrollment record for the third consecutive year, with 3,750+ students enrolled at the 8-year-old university this fall. Under Mong’s leadership since 2015, UNT Dallas enrollment has grown 51 percent over the course of his three years leading the only public university in the City of Dallas.