A new Newsweek analysis of recently-released federal loan data shows just how many families run into serious problems repaying what they owe and identifies the schools where parents struggle the most with college debt. The analysis also shows how much of a strain these loans often put on the households that can least afford them and how little they pay off in many cases, since the most problematic schools tend to have very low graduation rates.
In other words, if the goal in borrowing is to pay for your child to get a degree, many of these schools fail.
Overall, the Newsweek analysis found that one in 10 borrowers under the federal government’s Parent PLUS loan program defaulted on their loan or were seriously late with payments over the two academic years from 2017 to 2019. At more than 150 of the nearly 1,000 colleges and universities for which Newsweek had data, the rates topped 20 percent. And at dozens of schools, the default and delinquency rate hit at least 30 to 40 percent—a rate high enough for an institution to lose federal funding if the loans had been made to undergraduates instead of parents.
What are the colleges where parent borrowers are most likely to struggle?
For-profit institutions dominate the list, such as Blue Cliff College-Metairie near New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Dorsey School of Business-Woodhaven outside Detroit, Michigan, where the default and delinquency rates reached 39 and 36 percent, respectively, and more than 85 percent of parent borrowers were from lower-income households. Overall, 62 percent of the 50 schools with the highest default and delinquency rates were for-profits, where three-quarters of parent borrowers during the period analyzed came from homes with exceptional financial need.
Another 24 percent of the 50 schools on the list are historically Black colleges and universities, which rely heavily on parent loans due to institutional underfunding and a larger share of students coming from lower-income families. Among them: Tennessee’s Le Moyne-Owen College in Memphis, where the default and delinquency rate was 32 percent and nine in 10 parent borrowers had low incomes, and Lane College in Jackson, with a 34 percent rate and 93 percent of borrowers from low-income households.
Below is the full list of the top 50 schools where parent borrowers struggle the most with repaying their loans.
49 (tie). Dawn Career Institute LLC
Newark, Delaware Graduation rate: 72% Median loan amount: $5,307 Default and delinquency rate: 27.03% Low-income borrowers: 75%
49 (tie). Remington College-Dallas Campus
Garland, Texas Graduation rate: 74% Median loan amount: $5,311 Default and delinquency rate: 27.03% Low-income borrowers: 85%
48. Salter College-West Boylston
West Boylston, Massachusetts Graduation rate: N/A Median loan amount: $4,696 Default and delinquency rate: 27.07% Low-income borrowers: 92%
47. Unitech Training Academy-Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana Graduation rate: 66% Median loan amount: $3,711 Default and delinquency rate: 27.5% Low-income borrowers: 79%
46. Wiley College
Marshall, Texas Graduation rate: 37% Median loan amount: $9,985 Default and delinquency rate: 27.62% Low-income borrowers: 87%
45. Cortiva Institute-Tucson
Tucson, Arizona Graduation rate: N/A Median loan amount: $4,446 Default and delinquency rate: 27.66% Low-income borrowers: N/A
44. Antonelli College-Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio Graduation rate: N/A Median loan amount: $8,800 Default and delinquency rate: 27.71% Low-income borrowers: N/A
42. (tie). Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Ponce
Mercedita, Puerto Rico Graduation rate: 33% Median loan amount: $4,000 Default and delinquency rate: 28.07% Low-income borrowers: N/A
42 (tie). Branford Hall Career Institute-Parsippany
Parsippany, New Jersey Graduation rate: N/A Median loan amount: $3,696 Default and delinquency rate: 28.07% Low-income borrowers: N/A
40 (tie). Fortis College-Foley
Foley, Alabama Graduation rate: 53% Median loan amount: $4,243 Default and delinquency rate: 28.21% Low-income borrowers: 82%
40 (tie). Career Technical Institute
Washington, D.C. Graduation rate: 91% Median loan amount: $7,949 Default and delinquency rate: 28.21% Low-income borrowers: N/A
39. Harris School of Business-Cherry Hill Campus
Cherry Hill, New Jersey Graduation rate: N/A Median loan amount: $5,053 Default and delinquency rate: 28.24% Low-income borrowers: 92%
38. Medical Institute of Palm Beach
Greenacres, Florida Graduation rate: 98% Median loan amount: $5,449 Default and delinquency rate: 28.26% Low-income borrowers: N/A
37. Beauty Schools of America-Hialeah
Hialeah, Florida Graduation rate: N/A Median loan amount: $3,000 Default and delinquency rate: 28.32% Low-income borrowers: 93%
36. Berkeley College-New York
New York, New York Graduation rate: 38% Median loan amount: $10,900 Default and delinquency rate: 28.36% Low-income borrowers: 88%
35. Milan Institute-San Antonio Ingram
San Antonio, Texas Graduation rate: 44% Median loan amount: $3,427 Default and delinquency rate: 28.41% Low-income borrowers: 77%
34. Stillman College
Tuscaloosa, Alabama Graduation rate: 23% Median loan amount: $8,000 Default and delinquency rate: 28.8% Low-income borrowers: 84%
33. Concorde Career Institute-Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida Graduation rate: 69% Median loan amount: $7,331 Default and delinquency rate: 29.57% Low-income borrowers: 87%
32. Livingstone College
Salisbury, North Carolina Graduation rate: 31% Median loan amount: $14,289 Default and delinquency rate: 29.93% Low-income borrowers: 90%
31. Institute for Business and Technology
Santa Clara, California Graduation rate: 80% Median loan amount: $5,899 Default and delinquency rate: 30% Low-income borrowers: 65%
30. Platt College
Tulsa, Oklahoma Graduation rate: 50% Median loan amount: $4,514 Default and delinquency rate: 30.2% Low-income borrowers: 81%
29. University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff, Arkansas Graduation rate: 29% Median loan amount: $7,570 Default and delinquency rate: 30.4% Low-income borrowers: 85%
28. Philander Smith College
Little Rock, Arkansas Graduation rate: 33% Median loan amount: $14,000 Default and delinquency rate: 30.48% Low-income borrowers: 93%
27. National University College
Bayamon, Puerto Rico Graduation rate: 20% Median loan amount: $5,141 Default and delinquency rate: 30.83% Low-income borrowers: 86%
26. Florida Memorial University
Miami Gardens, Florida Graduation rate: 39% Median loan amount: $11,100 Default and delinquency rate: 31.11% Low-income borrowers: 88%
25. Pinnacle Career Institute-South Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri Graduation rate: 41% Median loan amount: $7,925 Default and delinquency rate: 31.15% Low-income borrowers: 54%
24. Florida Career College-Miami
Miami, Florida Graduation rate: 63% Median loan amount: $8,634 Default and delinquency rate: 31.37% Low-income borrowers: 95%
23. Academy of Cosmetology and Esthetics NYC
Staten Island, New York Graduation rate: 82% Median loan amount: $7,502 Default and delinquency rate: 31.43% Low-income borrowers: 59%
22. Jarvis Christian College
Hawkins, Texas Graduation rate: 16% Median loan amount: $8,320 Default and delinquency rate: 31.63% Low-income borrowers: 88%
21. UEI College-Fresno
Fresno, California Graduation rate: 62% Median loan amount: $7,889 Default and delinquency rate: 31.64% Low-income borrowers: 87%
20. Empire Beauty School-Manhattan
New York, New York Graduation rate: 55% Median loan amount: $3,138 Default and delinquency rate: 31.73% Low-income borrowers: 87%
19. Le Moyne-Owen College
Memphis, Tennessee Graduation rate: 24% Median loan amount: $6,500 Default and delinquency rate: 32.39% Low-income borrowers: 92%
18. Miles College
Fairfield, Alabama Graduation rate: 24% Median loan amount: $9,631 Default and delinquency rate: 32.7% Low-income borrowers: 93%
17. Lackawanna College
Scranton, Pennsylvania Graduation rate: 30% Median loan amount: $11,250 Default and delinquency rate: 32.9% Low-income borrowers: 68%
16. Benedict College
Columbia, South Carolina Graduation rate: 24% Median loan amount: $19,530 Default and delinquency rate: 33.12% Low-income borrowers: 92%
15. Altierus Career College-Tampa
Tampa, Florida Graduation rate: 54% Median loan amount: $3,898 Default and delinquency rate: 33.76% Low-income borrowers: 89%
14. Lane College
Jackson, Tennessee Graduation rate: 27% Median loan amount: $8,000 Default and delinquency rate: 34.36% Low-income borrowers: 93%
13. City College-Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Graduation rate: 46% Median loan amount: $7,334 Default and delinquency rate: 35.79% Low-income borrowers: 90%
12. Dorsey School of Business-Woodhaven
Woodhaven, Michigan Graduation rate: 47% Median loan amount: $5,339 Default and delinquency rate: 36.42% Low-income borrowers: 87%
11. Southern Careers Institute-Austin
Austin, Texas Graduation rate: 53% Median loan amount: $4,153 Default and delinquency rate: 36.58% Low-income borrowers: 80%
10. Allen University
Columbia, South Carolina Graduation rate: 25% Median loan amount: $7,899 Default and delinquency rate: 37.8% Low-income borrowers: N/A
9. Centura College-Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia Graduation rate: 19% Median loan amount: $9,878 Default and delinquency rate: 37.84% Low-income borrowers: 76%
8. Dakota College at Bottineau
Bottineau, North Dakota Graduation rate: 32% Median loan amount: $5,417 Default and delinquency rate: 37.93% Low-income borrowers: 73%
7. Blue Cliff College-Metairie
Metairie, Louisiana Graduation rate: 74% Median loan amount: $5,637 Default and delinquency rate: 38.67% Low-income borrowers: 86%
6. Southern Technical College
Orlando, Florida Graduation rate: 62% Median loan amount: $4,828 Default and delinquency rate: 38.71% Low-income borrowers: 85%
5. Career Quest Learning Centers-Lansing
Lansing, Michigan Graduation rate: 68% Median loan amount: $4,961 Default and delinquency rate: 38.78% Low-income borrowers: 81%
4. Vista College
El Paso, Texas Graduation rate: 78% Median loan amount: $6,411 Default and delinquency rate: 38.83% Low-income borrowers: 91%
3. Stevens-Henager College
West Haven, Utah Graduation rate: 33% Median loan amount: $4,786 Default and delinquency rate: 39.24% Low-income borrowers: 89%
2. National College-Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee Graduation rate: N/A Median loan amount: $5,638 Default and delinquency rate: 40% Low-income borrowers: N/A
1. South Texas Vocational Technical Institute-Weslaco
Weslaco, Texas Graduation rate: 67% Median loan amount: $2,867 Default and delinquency rate: 42.94% Low-income borrowers: 96%
Notes: Data is from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2019. Default is defined as failure to make payments for more than 360 days, delinquent as failure to pay for 31 to 360 days. Median loan amount represents how much parents borrowed for each student who graduated or otherwise left school during the two-year period. Eligibility for a federal Pell grant, given to students with exceptional financial need, is used as a proxy for low-income borrowers; the data represents the percentage of Parent PLUS borrowers whose student is Pell eligible. Graduation rates are over eight years and current as of July 20, 2021. Source: College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education
