The University of Mary Washington is listed among the top 100 schools considered “Best Risk-Reward for College Students.”
LendUSA released the results of its 2016 College Risk-Reward Indicator (CRRI) study, which analyzed data from 1,004 public and private colleges in the United States. LendUSA compared average early career pay versus average student loan debt for each institution. UMW was ranked 57thon the list, giving it a high ranking for value.
Nearly 70 percent of college students will graduate with student loans to repay. On average, according to LendUSA CEO Nate Matherson, students in the class of 2016 will be graduating with about $30,000 in student debt. “We defined risk as the average student loan debt per graduate. We defined reward as the average early career pay, or the median salary for alumni with 0-5 years of experience.”
Students should consider the risk-reward of attendance before choosing an institute of higher education to attend. “If we are going to solve the $1.2 trillion student loan crisis,” Matherson said, “students, families and the institutions themselves need to treat higher education as an investment and not a gamble.”
Besides UMW, only three other Virginia schools were listed among the top 100. Hampton University ranked 7th, University of Virginia ranked 87th and Washington and Lee University ranked 90th.
Is the $30,ooo debt per graduating student or graduating students with debt?