Study: Kettering Graduates Earn Highest Wages Statewide and Enter Workforce With Less Debt

Kettering University diploma

Kettering University delivers a unique educational model where students combine the finest hands-on academic training with paid, practical and innovative work experiences in partnership with 500 of the world’s most admired organizations.”

Cornelius Darcy, Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing

FLINT, Mich. – Statewide, graduates of Kettering University have the highest median earning six years after enrollment, the highest percentage of students who are able to pay their debt within three years of commencement and the third lowest student loan debt-to-income ratio, according to new analysis by loan comparison site credible.com.

Based on data collected by the Department of Education and made available to the public through its College Scorecard, the results show that out of the 44 four-year universities in Michigan ranked, Kettering alumni have the highest median earning within two years of graduating with $70,700, and 96.2 percent are able to repay student loan debt within three years of graduating.

Kettering was third in the state for graduates with a debt-to-income ratio of 0.41, trailing only Walsh College and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. The average student loan DTI is 0.75.

“Kettering University delivers a unique educational model where students combine the finest hands-on academic training with paid, practical and innovative work experiences in partnership with 500 of the world’s most admired organizations," said Cornelius Darcy, Kettering’s Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing. “Students are paid handsomely for their labor – many earning $75,000 or more – while working towards their degree. Such rewards reduce students’ need to take loans and directly contribute to their ability to claim the highest starting salaries for Bachelor of Science graduates in the state of Michigan.”  

About Kettering University
Kettering University, formerly known as GMI, is a Flint, Michigan-based private, nonprofit university recognized as one of the nation’s premier science, technology, engineering and business leaders in higher education. Dedicated to offering a curriculum that uniquely integrates classroom learning with experiential co-operative opportunities, Kettering consistently ranks in U.S. News & World Report’s listing for elite specialty schools. The University has more than 27,000 square feet of lab and research space used by faculty, students and industry collaborators, and boasts the only ABET-accredited applied physics program in the world. It also houses the first and only FIRST Robotics Community Center on a college campus in the United States. According to a 2019 analysis of federal data ranking 4,500 schools nationwide, Kettering University degree holders have the highest lifetime return on investment (ROI) in the state of Michigan. The University celebrated its centennial year in 2019. For more information, go to kettering.edu.