Some graduate schools don’t pay off, and students end up with growing debt instead.
The HEA Group, a research agency focused on college access, looked at more than 1,600 institutions and released a report this week.
The agency found about a third of institutions, 32%, show their students owe more on their loans than they initially borrowed, even 5 years after entering repayment.
Basically this means borrowers aren’t making enough money after graduation to make payments big enough to prevent their balance from growing.
In fact, the research shows some institutions’ graduate programs produced borrowers who collectively owed more than $100 million in interest after 5 years.
Today’s graduate students are 3 times more likely to borrow for school than graduate students in 1995, according to the Education Data Initiative. Average graduate school debt is more than 10 times higher than it was in 1995.
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In the report, the HEA Group pointed out that institutions such as Walden University, University of Phoenix, Capella University, Strayer University, Liberty University, Nova Southeastern University, and DeVry University had some of the highest debt-to-earnings ratios.
The following programs at the following institutions have the greatest debt-to-earnings ratios, according to their research:
Walden University - Psychology doctoral degree - 243.3%
Walden University - Curriculum and instruction graduate certificate - 196.4%
Walden University - Mental and social health services master’s degree - 161.3%
University of Phoenix - Educational administration and supervision doctoral degree - 104.1%
University of Phoenix - Curriculum and instruction doctoral degree - 103.5%
Graduate students taking out direct unsubsidized loans this upcoming school year can expect to see a fixed interest rate of 7.05%. The new rates apply to loans taken out after July 1, 2023, according to the Education Department.
