Officials at the University of Maine at Presque Isle are pleased to announce that the institution has been named one of the top 20 most affordable colleges in the Northeast by Student Loan Hero, a personal finance online organization that works to provide resources, tools, and information on student loan debt to students across the nation.
UMPI was listed as the #7 institution in the ranking, behind six colleges in the City University of New York (CUNY) System, where the Excelsior Scholarship—a tuition-free college program for state residents whose household income is at or below $125,000—has been implemented.
“We count ourselves in excellent company in this ranking of the Northeast’s most affordable colleges, and are proud to appear as the first college from not only the State of Maine, but throughout all of New England,” UMPI President Ray Rice said. “We believe it’s of fundamental importance to provide a high-quality, affordable education to all of our students, and are pleased to see that showcased in this ranking as the most affordable four-year college in New England.”
The survey looked at 310 public and private colleges in nine states throughout the Northeast—including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont—to determine where students pay the lowest tuition and graduate with the least amount of student debt. In order to complete this ranking, Student Loan Hero used information reported to online college database Peterson’s to compare each college’s tuition and fees as well as their graduates’ average student debt.
UMPI’s tuition and fees came in at $7,884 in the ranking, compared to the national average of $9,970 for in-state students at four-year public schools. Its average debt was listed at $22,934, or about half of the $39,400 average student debt for the Class of 2017.
“This third party recognition provides further outside evidence of what we’ve been saying all along as part of our The Way It Should Be campaign,” Patricia Armstrong, UMPI Admissions Director, said. “We are affordable. Really, really affordable.”
To learn more about UMPI’s The Way It Should Be campaign, visit https://www.umpi.edu/way-it-should-be/. For more information about Student Loan Hero and its rankings, check out the article here: https://studentloanhero.com/featured/ranking-most-affordable-colleges-in-northeast/. For more information about UMPI affordability and commitment to low student debt, contact the Admissions Office at 207-768-9532 or umpi-admissions@maine.edu.
Student Loan Hero combines easy-to-use tools with financial education to help the millions of Americans living with student loan debt manage and pay off their loans. The website provides information about repayment options, including refinancing, income-driven repayment, and deferment. Student Loan Hero has helped more than 200,000 borrowers manage and eliminate over $3.5 billion in student loan debt since 2012 and assists over 3.5 million people in becoming more financially healthy every year. Founded in 2012 by CEO Andrew Josuweit, who himself had over $100,000 in student loans, Student Loan Hero operates on the belief that all loan help and recommendations should come with honesty and no hidden agenda. For more information, visit https://studentloanhero.com.
