NAU grads among lightest college debt load

U.S. News & World Report has ranked Northern Arizona University among the top 25 national universities where students graduate with the least amount of debt.

The report, released last week, analyzed data from the class of 2008 from 262 national universities—164 public, 98 private. NAU ranks 25th in the nation for graduates with the lightest debt load.

The rankings were determined after weighing the loans taken out by students (and not including parents’ loans) against the average cumulative amount borrowed by those students who incurred debt.

A college loan is considered “good debt” by financial experts because it is an investment in the future, though they warn students to avoid excessive college debt upon graduation.

In 2008, 51 percent of NAU’s student body graduated with debt and the average cumulative amount borrowed by those students was $14,952—less than the national average of about $21,000, according to The Project on Student Debt.