Few Michigan Tech Students Defaulting on Their Loans

With a student loan default rate of just over 2 percent, Michigan Technological University students are defaulting on student loans at the second lowest rate among public universities in Michigan, according to new data released by a website called Student Loan Report.net. 

Michigan Tech’s default rate of 2.01 percent is more than 9 percent lower than the national average of 11.35 percent, according to the website.

The only public university in Michigan with a lower default rate is the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, whose default rate is 1.26 percent.

The Student Loan Report is based on US Department of Education data. It includes default rates for more than 4,500 public and private colleges and universities nationwide. 

Michigan Tech ranked 7^th among all schools—public and private—in Michigan and in the top 10 percent of all schools in the nation.

"Financing a degree in higher education is no small investment, and we really strive to make sure our students understand how their student loans will impact them both during and after college,” said Joe Cooper, director of student financial services at Michigan Tech.  “This report confirms what we have already been telling our students, which is that a Michigan Tech degree produces a significant return on investment."  

A Student Loan Report spokesperson said, “Your school is clearly doing a great job at setting up students to successfully repay their debt. Student loan debt is a problem that is hampering too many of our nation’s young adults, and we are happy to see that some schools, like yours, are doing their part to improve the situation.”

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 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, 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.