The 50 Worst Colleges In America Ranked

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Colleges are ranked based on their graduation rate, quality of education, the school’s reputation, cost, and the percentage of graduates who find jobs. It is important to research and know which educational institutions will meet your expectations and give you the best chance to succeed. There are many colleges that make the ‘worst colleges in America’ list, either because they have a ridiculously high drop-out rate, are way too expensive, are in the middle of lawsuits, or just have a rotten reputation.

DeVry University

DeVry University is located in Naperville, Illinois, and was founded in 1931. There are eighteen thousand students enrolled at the university, with fourteen thousand students at the undergraduate level. This college made the worst colleges in America list because its students graduate with a student loan debt of about forty-three thousand dollars. In addition, the graduation rate of students is only twenty-nine percent. The yearly cost to attend DeVry University is more than twenty-three thousand dollars, with the average starting salary for graduates after six years being forty-four thousand dollars.

Coppin State University

Coppin State University is located in Baltimore, Maryland, and was founded in 1900. The university has a very low graduation rate of just twenty percent. Two thousand three hundred eighty-three undergraduate pupils attend this public university, and the acceptance rate is thirty-eight percent. It costs thirty thousand dollars to attend this college for out-of-state students and twenty-four thousand dollars for in-state students. The average student loan debt for graduates is twenty-four thousand dollars, with the median starting salary being thirty-eight thousand dollars.

Wesley College

Wesley College is located in Dover, Delaware, and was founded in 1873. This college has a total of two thousand and three hundred and twenty students enrolled, but only seventeen percent of the students leave the college with a degree. In order to attend this college, it will cost almost forty-four thousand dollars, with the graduates earning an average starting salary of forty-three thousand dollars after six years of graduation.

Alabama State University

Alabama State University was founded in 1867 and is located in Montgomery, Alabama. The college has an acceptance rate of ninety-eight percent, with an enrollment of five thousand students at the undergraduate level. Out-of-state students will pay thirty thousand dollars for tuition, and in-state students will pay twenty-two thousand dollars. It has a graduation rate of twenty-one percent, and the average loan debt upon graduation is thirty-two thousand dollars.

Mayville State University

Mayville State University was founded in 1889 and is located in Mayville, North Dakota. The school has a total of one thousand and one hundred eighty-four students and has a graduation rate of thirty-one percent. Out-of-state students pay twenty-two thousand dollars, and in-state students pay nineteen thousand dollars. The average student loan debt after graduation is twenty-eight thousand dollars, with roughly eleven percent of the students defaulting on their loans.

University Of The Southwest

The University of the Southwest was founded in 1962 and is located in Hobbs, New Mexico. There are more than one thousand students enrolled at the university and about four hundred and forty-one undergraduates. The university has an acceptance rate of forty-five percent and a graduation rate of just twenty percent. It costs more than twenty-seven thousand dollars to attend the university, and graduates leave with an average loan debt of twenty-three thousand dollars.

Waldorf University

Waldorf University was founded in 1903 and is located in Forest City, Iowa. The university has a total of forty-five hundred students, and twenty-six hundred students attend the undergraduate programs. The university’s acceptance rate is at seventy-five percent, with a graduation rate of just twenty-three percent. Graduates leave with an average student loan debt of twenty-eight thousand dollars, with almost ten percent of students defaulting on their loan repayment. Tuition at this university is about twenty-one thousand dollars.

Philander Smith College

Philander Smith College was founded in 1877 and is located in Arkansas. The college has a total of seven hundred and sixty students enrolled and a graduation rate of just thirty-nine percent. The tuition is twenty-six thousand dollars, and graduates leave with an average loan debt of twenty-six thousand dollars. The average starting salary after three years of graduation is twenty-four thousand dollars. However, about twenty percent of graduates default on their student loans.

Lindsey Wilson College

Lindsey Wilson College was founded in 1903 and is located in Columbia, Kentucky. The school has a total of twenty-five hundred students enrolled, with twenty-one hundred undergraduates. The average cost to attend this college is thirty-four thousand dollars, with a thirty-three percent graduation rate. However, about eighty-five percent of graduates find a job two years after graduation.

Fayetteville State University

Fayetteville State University was founded in 1867 and is located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It is a smaller public university with an enrollment of fifty-four hundred and a thirty-three percent graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is twenty-nine thousand dollars, and in-state tuition is seventeen thousand dollars. The average loan debt is twenty-one thousand dollars upon graduation, and the medium starting income is thirty-eight thousand dollars.

Stratford University

Stratford University was founded in 1976 and is located in Northern Virginia. Most of the students at this university are on part-time programs, and the yearly cost is twenty-eight thousand dollars. There are two thousand students at the university, with eighteen hundred being undergraduates. The school has a thirty percent graduation rate and an average loan debt of almost eleven thousand dollars. The average starting wage is thirty-five thousand five hundred dollars.

Nazarene Bible College

Nazarene Bible College was founded in 1964 and is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There are fourteen hundred students enrolled at the college, and the yearly tuition is just shy of twenty-seven thousand dollars. The college has a sixteen percent graduation rate, and the average loan debt per pupil is forty-two thousand dollars. In addition, the average starting salary is just shy of thirty thousand dollars after six years of graduation.

Florida Memorial University

Florida Memorial University was founded in 1879 and is located in Miami, Florida. There are eighteen hundred students enrolled, with a total of sixteen hundred undergraduates. The university has a thirty-eight percent graduation rate, and the tuition rate is twenty-two thousand dollars. The average student graduates with a loan debt of thirty thousand dollars, and the median starting income after graduation is thirty-six thousand dollars.

The University Of South Carolina, Aiken

The University of South Carolina, Aiken was founded in 1879 and is located in Aiken, South Carolina. The university’s yearly tuition is eighteen thousand dollars for in-state students and twenty-nine thousand dollars for out-of-state students. The university has a postgraduate enrollment of one hundred and fifty-seven and an undergraduate number of three thousand. It has a forty-two percent graduation rate, mainly because there is a lack of job opportunities in the community.

The University Of Montevallo State

The University of Montevallo State was founded in 1896 and is located in Montevallo, Alabama. It is the only public liberal arts college in Alabama. Twenty-six hundred students are enrolled at the college, with twenty-three hundred being undergraduates. However, the university’s graduation rate is only forty-eight percent. In-state tuition is twenty-seven thousand dollars, and out-of-state tuition is forty thousand dollars. The average student loan debt is more than twenty-five thousand dollars.

Saint Augustine’s University

Saint Augustine’s University was founded in 1867 and is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is a smaller school, with just nine hundred and seventy-four students. Unfortunately, the university only has a twenty-six percent graduation rate. The in-state tuition is more than seven thousand dollars, and the out-of-state tuition is eighteen thousand dollars. In addition, the average loan debt after graduation is twenty-two thousand and five hundred dollars, with the median starting salary of twenty-one thousand dollars.

Grambling State University

Grambling State University was founded in 1901 and is located in Louisiana. More than four thousand undergraduate students are enrolled at the university, with just forty-one percent expected to graduate. The in-state tuition is just under twenty-five thousand dollars, and out-of-state tuition is just shy of thirty-four thousand dollars. The average student loan debt after graduation is twenty-six thousand dollars, and the median starting income for graduates is forty-four thousand dollars.

Shaw University

Shaw University is located in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was founded in 1865. It is one of the worst colleges because its graduation rate is just eighteen percent. The university has sixteen hundred students enrolled, with fifteen hundred undergraduate students. The tuition is thirty thousand dollars per year, with the average student loan debt after graduation being twenty-eight thousand dollars. The median starting salary after graduation is thirty thousand dollars.

University Of The District Of Columbia

The University of the District of Columbia was founded in 1851 and is located in Washington, D.C. The university has a total of thirty-nine hundred students. The university’s graduation rate is just eighteen percent. Graduates leave with an average student loan debt of twenty-two thousand dollars, with almost ten percent of students defaulting on their loan repayment. Tuition at this university is about twenty-three thousand dollars for in-state and thirty thousand dollars for out-of-state.

Morris College

Morris College is located in Sumter, South Carolina, and was founded in 1908. This college has a total of twelve hundred undergraduate students enrolled, but only twenty percent of the students leave the college with a degree. In order to attend this college, it will cost twenty-seven thousand dollars, with the graduates earning an average starting salary of thirty-two thousand dollars after graduating. The average student leaves college with a loan debt of twenty-six thousand dollars.

Western International University

Western International University was founded in 1978 and is located in Arizona. It has an undergraduate population of thirteen hundred, with the total number of students being two thousand. Unfortunately, the university only has a fifteen percent graduation rate. The cost of tuition is six thousand dollars, with six percent of students deferring their loans. In addition, the average loan debt after graduation is twenty-one thousand dollars.

The Art Institute Of Atlanta

The Art Institute of Atlanta was founded in 1978 and is located in Dunwoody, Georgia. It is a for-profit art school with an undergraduate enrollment of twelve hundred. The school has an eleven percent graduation rate, and the average loan debt is just under thirty-two thousand dollars. The tuition is twenty-one thousand dollars, and the median starting income for graduates is thirty-five thousand dollars. Unfortunately, the default loan rate of the college is nineteen percent.

Black Hill State University

Black Hill State University was founded in 1883 and is located in Spearfish, South Dakota. There are just under four thousand undergraduate students and a graduation rate of just thirty-eight percent. The in-state tuition is twenty-two thousand dollars, and out-of-state tuition is twenty-five thousand dollars. Students leave the school with an average loan debt of twenty-five thousand dollars. Black Hill State University was listed as the twelfth worst school in the nation.

New England College

New England College was founded in 1946 and is located in Henniker, New Hampshire. Twenty-eight hundred students are enrolled at the college, and the yearly tuition is just shy of fifty-eight thousand dollars. The college has a thirty-eight percent graduation rate, and the average loan debt per pupil is thirty-five thousand dollars. In addition, the average starting salary is just shy of thirty-eight thousand dollars after six years of graduation.

The University Of Maine At Augusta

The University of Maine at Augusta was founded in 1965 and is located in Augusta, Maine. There is an enrollment of six thousand students and a yearly tuition cost of twenty-one thousand dollars for in-state students and thirty-two thousand dollars for out-of-state students. The graduation rate is only thirty percent, and the average loan debt after graduation is twenty-four thousand dollars. The medium starting salary after graduating is just shy of twenty-eight thousand dollars.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Eastern New York

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Eastern New York, was founded in 1824 and is located in Troy, New York. This college is on the list of worst colleges because of its poorly written policies, which have been used to quell free speech. There are more than eight thousand students enrolled, and the graduation rate is sixty-one percent. In addition, tuition is more than fifty-five thousand dollars, and it is a private college.

Columbia College Hollywood

Columbia College Hollywood was founded in 1952 and is located in Los Angeles, California. It has just three hundred and sixty students. Unfortunately, the university only has a thirty-five percent graduation rate. The tuition costs run about ten thousand dollars above the average. In addition, the average loan debt after graduation is twenty thousand dollars. It is a film school, and many graduates are not able to secure stable and gainful employment.

California State University Los Angeles

California State University Los Angeles was founded in 1947 and is located in Los Angeles, California. It has more than twenty-six thousand students enrolled, with more than twenty-two thousand being undergraduates. It is listed on the worst colleges list because of the limitations that it places on free speech. It has a graduation rate of forty-eight percent and an acceptance rate of seventy-six percent.

Mt. Sierra College

Mt. Sierra College was founded in 1990 and is located in California. The college offers a variety of college courses in technology and business, but they have a hard time getting students to stay and finish their degrees. It has a very low graduation rate of just six percent, and tuition is sixteen thousand dollars annually. Because of the low graduation rate, very few secure jobs after graduation due to employers being hesitant to respect their degrees.

California State University At Long Beach

California State University at Long Beach was founded in 1949 and is located in Long Beach, California. There are thirty-nine thousand students enrolled at the college, and the semester tuition is just shy of six thousand dollars. The college has a sixteen percent graduation rate, and the average loan debt per pupil is twenty-five thousand dollars. In addition, the average starting salary is just shy of forty thousand dollars after six years of graduation.

Georgetown University

Georgetown University was founded in 1789 and is located in Washington, D.C. There are nineteen thousand students enrolled at the university, with seventy-four hundred undergraduates. The school has a forty-five percent graduation rate, and tuition is fifty-eight thousand dollars. It is also on the list of worst colleges because it shuts down student rights to free speech. In addition, the average student loan debt after graduation is up to two hundred and thirty two thousand dollars.

Johnson State College

Johnson State College was founded in 1828 and is located in Johnson, Vermont. The college was later changed to Northern Vermont University. It has an acceptance rate of ninety-five percent and a graduation rate of thirty-seven percent. There are seventeen hundred students enrolled, with fifteen hundred undergraduates. In-state tuition is thirteen thousand dollars, and out-of-state tuition is twenty-seven thousand dollars.

Lawrence University

Lawrence University was founded in 1847 and is located in Appleton, Wisconsin. There are fifteen hundred students. The university has a pretty high graduation rate at eighty percent, but the yearly tuition is also high at forty-seven thousand dollars. In addition, the median starting salary is only forty-four thousand dollars ten years after graduation. The average student loan debt after graduation is just under twenty-six thousand dollars.

Plymouth State University

Plymouth State University was founded in 1871 and is located in Holderness and Plymouth, New Hampshire. There are forty-five hundred students enrolled at the college, with thirty-seven hundred undergraduates.The in-state yearly tuition is fourteen thousand dollars, and out-of-state tuition is twenty-four thousand dollars. The college has a forty-five percent graduation rate, and the average loan debt per pupil is nineteen thousand dollars.

Rhode Island College

Rhode Island College was founded in 1854 and is located in Providence, Rhode Island. There are nine thousand students enrolled, with more than seven thousand undergraduates. The college has a twenty percent graduation rate, and the average loan debt per pupil is twenty-six thousand dollars. In addition, the area is one of the most expensive places to live in the United States. The medium starting salary after graduation is around thirty-five thousand dollars.

Middlebury College

Middlebury College was founded in 1800 and is located in Middlebury, Vermont. It was the first operating college or university in Vermont, and it has twenty-five hundred students enrolled. Tuition is high, at fifty-eight thousand dollars with a graduation rate of eighty-six percent. The average student loan debt after graduation is around fourteen thousand dollars. The college is in a beautiful location, but it faces backlash when it comes to its anti-discrimination and harassment policies.

Jackson State University

Jackson State University was founded in 1877 and is located in Jackson, Mississippi. It is historically a Black university and is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States. There are seven thousand students enrolled at the university, with five thousand being undergraduates. The university has an acceptance rate of ninety percent and a graduation rate of just thirty-seven percent. In addition, it will cost the average student about eighteen thousand dollars for tuition after financial aid.

Wheelock College

Wheelock College was founded in 1888 and is located in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a smaller school, with just eight hundred and eleven students. Unfortunately, the university only has a fifty-five percent graduation rate. The tuition is thirty thousand dollars, with the average cost of attending the college being close to two hundred thousand dollars. It’s in a popular place, but with that high tuition, you better go into a career that makes good money.

Marquette University

Marquette University was founded in 1881 and is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There are eleven thousand and eight hundred students enrolled, and eighty-five hundred are undergraduates. The university has an eighty-four percent graduation rate, which is high, but the tuition is high, at more than forty thousand dollars. The university is a high-profile school, but it also has an extremely high property crime rate.

Sewanee: The University Of The South

Sewanee: The University of the South was founded in 1857 and is located in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is a private Episcopal liberal arts college and has seventeen hundred undergraduates enrolled. The school has a high graduation rate of eighty-three percent, but it also has a high tuition of fifty thousand dollars. The university is located on a scenic mountain property of about one thousand acres, but you better have deep pockets to attend here.

Hollins University

Hollins University was founded in 1842 and is located in Roanoke, Virginia. There are definitely worse colleges out there than Hollins University, but the tuition is extremely high. It will cost you fifty-three thousand dollars to attend this college. It has an acceptance rate of eighty-one percent and a graduation rate of just fifty-six percent. It is a small school, with just six hundred students enrolled. In addition, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women, but not just anyone can attend at that price.

Macalester College

Macalester College was founded in 1874 and is located in St. Paul, Minnesota. It has twenty-two hundred students enrolled and a high graduation rate of ninety percent. However, the yearly tuition is ridiculously high, costing fifty-eight thousand dollars. It is an undergraduate four-year institution with an acceptance rate of only thirty-nine percent. The majority of students have a student loan debt of twenty-seven thousand dollars after graduation. In addition, many graduates have reported earning less than forty-eight thousand dollars.

Chaminade University

Chaminade University was founded in 1955 and is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. There are twenty-eight hundred students enrolled, with twenty-one hundred of them being undergraduates. The university has an acceptance rate of eighty-nine percent and a graduation rate of fifty-four percent. In addition, the average student loan debt after graduation is roughly twenty-six thousand dollars, and the median starting salary after graduation is just thirty-nine thousand dollars.

Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University was founded in 1831 and is located in Middletown, Connecticut. There are three thousand students enrolled, with twenty-eight hundred being undergraduates. The university has an eighty-nine percent graduation rate, which is high. However, tuition is insanely high, costing almost sixty thousand dollars. In addition, the average loan debt after graduation is twenty-two thousand and nine hundred dollars, with the median starting salary of forty-two thousand dollars after six years.

Colorado College

Colorado College was founded in 1874 and is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There are about two thousand students enrolled at the college with a graduation rate of eight-two percent. They have a high graduation rate, but they also have extremely high tuition, costing more than sixty thousand dollars. They have an acceptance rate of fourteen percent, meaning they are very picky with accepting new students. The medium starting salary after graduation is just thirty-eight thousand dollars, which isn’t much when you have to pay sixty thousand dollars yearly.

Montana State University Billings

Montana State University Billings was founded in 1927 and is located in Billings, Montana. It is Montana’s third-largest university and has thirty-six hundred students enrolled. It has a low graduation rate of just thirty-one percent. In-state tuition is six thousand dollars, and out-of-state tuition is nineteen thousand dollars. The average student loan debt after graduation is twenty-two thousand dollars, and the median starting salary is thirty-five thousand dollars after six years

Everglades University

Everglades University was founded in 1999 and is located in Boca Raton, Florida. It is a private university with fifteen thousand students enrolled. Yearly tuition is about eighteen thousand dollars, and the graduation rate is fifty-one percent. In addition, the university’s acceptance rate is seventy-five percent. The school is known for its many small added expenses, causing many students to not attend. The average student loan debt after graduating is forty thousand dollars.

Ultimate Medical Academy

The Ultimate Medical Academy was founded in 1993 and is located in Clearwater, Florida. It is a nonprofit school that offers training in the allied health field and continuing medical education. It mainly teaches online, with more than ten thousand students enrolled, but it also offers some in-person campuses. Reportedly, it is run by some questionable people, and many people question if it is an accredited university or not. It is better to avoid questionable colleges.

Purdue University Global

Purdue University Global was founded in 2018 and is located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Forty-four thousand students are enrolled, but you must sign a waiver when applying. That’s very questionable when they want to make sure you can’t sue them. Unfortunately, the university only has a forty percent graduation rate. The tuition is roughly fourteen thousand dollars yearly. In addition, the average loan debt after graduation is forty thousand dollars.