Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 18 : Fall 2013 | Page 72

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The Most Affordable
The Most Affordable
T
he year 2013 started on a bright note
for UMFK when – quite unexpectedly
– the University found itself atop a list
issued by the nationally-recognized
U.S. News & World Report: 10 Colleges Where
Graduates Have the Least Debt.
UMFK was included among a U.S. News &
World Report “Short List” of the top 10 colleges
where borrowers owed an average of $10,000,
or less, at graduation. UMFK was the top-rated
national four-year public institution on the list.
The average debt load for a 2011 UMFK graduate was a miserly $9,505.
The “Short List” also includes such venerable institutions as Princeton and Yale universities. You may have heard of them.
“At a time when we read about college
graduates being burdened with debt, it is
refreshing to see firm evidence that Maine’s
public universities offer affordable pathways to
a bachelor’s degree and economic opportunity.
The low debt of UMFK graduates shows what a
great value and tremendous return on investment a UMFK education is,” said President
Wilson G. Hess.
Nation-wide, sixty-eight percent of graduates from the class of 2011 borrowed to help
pay for college, according to data reported by
1,033 ranked colleges in a 2012 U.S. News survey. On average, those students had $26,220 in
debt. The debt data used in these calculations

6 | The Bell Tower

includes loans taken out by students from colleges, financial institutions, and federal, state,
and local governments. It excluded any loans
taken by a student’s parents. A May 2013 CNN
Money article stated that the average collegerelated debt of a 2013 graduate has increased
to $35,200 when you calculate student loans,
credit cards, and money o