Study: SU Has Second-Lowest Graduating Student Loan Debt in USM
SALISBURY, MD---Student loan debt is fast becoming a hot topic for the 2020 presidential campaign, with candidates advocating for solutions from marginal relief to complete abatement.
At Salisbury University, graduates are in a better position to pay back student loans than at many other institutions in Maryland and beyond, according to a study recently released by online student loan marketplace Lend EDU.
The study ranked SU’s Class of 2017, the most recent year for which data was available, as graduating with the second-lowest average student loan debt ($26,940) in the University System of Maryland and the third-lowest overall in the state. That was compared to a national average of $28,844.
Among USM institutions, SU also had the third-lowest number of students graduating with loan debt in 2017, at 59 percent, according to the study.
Not included in the study was the default loan rate of SU alumni cohorts at approximately 3.5 percent, well under the national average of 11 percent.
“Even though SU receives one of the lowest levels of funding in the USM, we’re doing our part,” said Aaron Basko, assistant vice president for enrollment management and career services. “Low tuition and costs of attendance, and an increased financial aid budget are paying dividends for our students.”
SU’s estimated undergraduate tuition for the 2019-20 academic year is just over $10,000 for in-state students and slightly over $20,000 for out-of-state students. Total annual cost of attendance for students, including room, board and fees, is estimated at just over $26,000 in state and slightly more than $36,000 out of state.
In addition to funding more money for financial aid in recent years, SU offers innovative awards that go beyond academics, such as University President Charles Wight’s “Lead from the Front” Scholarship, which provides up to $12,000 over four years for student community leaders.
Not only are current students learning that SU is a great value, but national critics agree. The University consistently is ranked among the best values in U.S. higher education by publications including Money, Washington Monthly and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, and rated among the best public universities nationally by others including U.S. News & World Report, Forbes and The Princeton Review.
Underscored is SU’s commitment to academic quality, including a dedication to undergraduate research (some 39 student presenters were accepted for this year’s National Conference on Undergraduate Research, making SU the 14th-highest represented campus), program quality and overall student success. The Chronicle of Higher Education has rated SU the No. 1 public campus in the U.S. for graduating undergraduate females in computer science, by percentage.
The Chronicle also has named SU among the nation’s top producers of Student Fulbrights for the past two years; the University set a new school record with five for 2019-20.
“This focus on academic quality serves our students well after graduation,” said Basko. “In-demand skills in high-paying fields plus low student loan debt equals a win-win for SU and our alumni.”
For more information call 410-543-6161 or visit the SU website.