A student loans analysis website called Student Loan Report has announced that Michigan Tech's three-year loan default rate is holding steady at 2 percent, compared to a national average default rate of 11.3 percent.
Tech’s loan default rate was second lowest in Michigan.
Overall, Michigan Tech ranked in the top 6 percent of 1,900 schools for the lowest default rate. Among public institutions, Michigan Tech ranked #27 in the nation, in the top 2 percent. Nine of those 27 public institutions have medical schools. Don’t count them, and Michigan Tech alumni have the 18th lowest default rate in the country.
“It gets even more interesting,” said President Glenn Mroz. “I think everyone realizes that the ability to pay back is dependent on getting a job after graduation, but it also has a lot to do with what your family income was when you came here.”
Only three universities—University of California-Irvine, George Mason and State University of New York Geneseo—had a higher percentage of students qualifying for the federal Pell Grant than Michigan Tech. “So it’s fair to say that Michigan Tech is one of the top four public institutions in the nation where students from modest to moderate financial means can get an education that gives them the ability to pay back their loans after graduation.
No school on this list of 18 has a higher percentage of their student body taking out federal loans than Michigan Tech. “But our students have the ability and appreciation to pay them back. Our students are a good investment for our nation from that point alone,” said Mroz.
Student Loan Report analyzes federal student loan default rates based on data from the US Department of Education.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
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