College Value in Minnesota?

The average debt of Carleton and Mac grads 

is less than the state average and 

ten grand less than the U. 

Kara McGuire has an excellent piece in the 'Strib that notes:

The December issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine is no exception. Four Minnesota colleges make the top half of the magazine's list of 100 best private college values:

11. Carleton College, Northfield, Minn.

23. Macalester College, St. Paul, Minn.

27. St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.

47. Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, Minn.

St. John's University and College of St. Benedict ranked in the 70s.

At first glance, the $50,000 plus price tags on a Carleton or Macalester are intimidating. But both give close to  $30,000 in need and non-need based aid with the bulk of it going towards need. The average student graduates with less than $20,000 in debt.

We're talking about $10,000 less than the $27,467 in student debt  that's saddling the average Minnesota graduate, Class of 2009.

A peek at the Project on Student Debt's data on debt load by school is eye-opening. Average debt at the University of Minnesota? $26,516. Winona State? $27,190.

University of Minnesota President Bruininks likes to talk about sticker price versus the actual price.   If the point is that the U costs less - for some students - than the sticker price, that is probably true.  

But would you rather walk out of the showroom owing ten grand less for an Audi than if you had bought a Camry? 

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