U., ranked 10th, only Ivy among private colleges whose graduates have the least debt

The University ranked 10th in a list of most affordable private colleges, according to a study conducted by the company Student Loan Hero.

With an average indebtedness of graduates of $8,577, the University was the only Ivy League university on the list, which included College of the Ozarks in Missouri ($5,339), Davis College in New York ($5,360), Barclay College in Kansas ($7,220), and Brigham Young University in Utah ($15,720).

The cost of tuition and fees at private nonprofit four-year schools is $33,480 on average, according to the College Board based on data from the 2016-2017 school year. This is $23,830 higher than in-state tuition at public four-year institutions.

Student Loan Hero’s study dispels the mantra told to many college applicants that all private colleges are expensive by presenting a list of 20 colleges with less than $25,550 in average indebtedness of graduates.

Student Loan Hero analyzed 670 private U.S. colleges and ranked the schools based on four factors: tuition and fees for 2015-2016, the 2014-2015 estimates of the cost of attendance after the average financial aid package is applied, the proportion of students graduating with student debt, and the average indebtedness of a 2015 graduate. Tuition, net cost, and proportion of students each contributed one-fifth of the ranking score, and the average indebtedness was weighted twice as heavily.

Data was collected from the most recent data from the Institute for College Access & Success Project on Student Debt and the National Center of Educational Statistics.