38% of Students Graduate With Zero Student Loan Debt — Here's What They Do Differently
38% of college students graduate with no student loan debt — and NPSAS data reveals the specific financial and enrollment choices that separate them from the borrowing majority.
More than one in three college students — 38%, according to NPSAS data analyzed by The College Investor — graduate without any student loan debt, and their strategies are replicable. The debt-free cohort tends to share a few key behaviors: maximizing grants and scholarships before turning to loans, choosing schools where aid covers a larger share of cost, working during school, and often starting at community colleges to cut early costs. This matters because the average student borrower leaves school owing around $30,000, so even partially adopting these habits can meaningfully reduce what you owe at graduation. If you're still choosing a school or mapping out next year's finances, the single most important move is running the net price calculator at every school on your list — what you pay, not the sticker price, determines whether debt-free is realistic for you.
This issue draws on reporting and data from The College Investor.