1. Berklee College of Music
Arts-focused schools are often high risk, as the arts tend to be a selective gauntlet. You might become the first chair violinist in the Berlin Philharmonic, just like you might also win the Powerball.
Berklee College of Music illustrates this point, as it is rated as the worst value for money of all the universities in the United States. With annual tuition above $45,000 (before counting room, board, and course materials), the Boston-based music school charges an arm and a leg to students who (statistics indicate) will face a lifetime of debt. You might be better off playing your cello in the subway tunnels than enrolling at Berklee (no, not that Berkley).
2. Alabama State University
While there are undoubtedly thriving graduates of Alabama State University (go Hornets!), this Historically Black College/University (HBCU) has a 98% acceptance rate, so basically everyone gets in. Such a high acceptance rate craters the value of an Alabama State degree. Yet, out-of-state students will pay more than $30,000 per year after accounting for tuition, books, and boarding.
Years after graduating as an Alabama State Hornet, you may be feeling the sting of tens of thousands in student debt.
3. Florida National University
Located in Hialeah, FL, Florida National University is a private, for-profit school with the acronym “FNU.” This is fitting because “FNU” is what students feel the school has done to them after taking out loans for a degree with such little value.
While the school has a respectable nursing program, researchers found that the average FNU student will likely regret paying such a high cost for so little return on investment.
4. Clark Atlanta University
Atlanta is home to at least two prestigious universities, Georgia Tech and Emory, that offer most students high-value degrees. Then there is Clark Atlanta University, an HBCU with plenty of name recognition. While HBCUs serve a noble purpose, we must be upfront about every school’s pros and cons, including those with the HBCU tag.
The truth is that data shows that a Clark Atlanta University degree opens fewer doors than students might believe. Worse yet, the student body has had multiple brushes with tragedy that (while not necessarily an indictment of the campus’ safety) give more reason for pause.
5. Herzing University
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Herzing University is a private university with in-person and online programs. It markets its nursing program prominently, and it may be wise for Herzing University students to earn such a degree with a clear path to income. Because, as alumni income data shows, those who receive a degree in business or other focuses do not fare well.
The 94% acceptance rate is a telltale sign that a Herzing University degree is a dime a dozen (not to discredit the hard work of all graduates).
6. Grambling State University
If this research is any indication, historically black colleges and universities do not fare well regarding graduates’ post-scholastic career prospects. Grambling State University in Grambling, Louisiana, has a nearly 73% acceptance rate and an annual tuition of almost $25,000.
Taking out $100,000 in debt to attend a school that accepts nearly three-quarters of applicants is just bad math.
7. Keiser University – Fort Lauderdale
Keiser University may be more aptly called Kei-“No Sir” University because you should decline any offers to attend. 96% of applicants get into this school, which has long focused on serving online students.
While Keiser University offers useful degrees (in nursing and computer engineering, for example), it is difficult to justify the $23,000 annual tuition and fees for a school that accepts every Tom, Richard, and Harry who applies.
8. Academy of Art University
I am a graduate of a mid-level regional state university. I look down upon no college graduate. But let’s be frank: Academy of Art University sounds fake. With an annual sticker price of more than $47,000, you should treat the Academy of Art University like it is, in fact, not real.
Avoid the debt and just attend your self-taught art university. Something like the School of Drawing College.
9. Benedict College
Columbia, South Carolina-based Benedict College is an HBCU with a sky-high acceptance rate (over 85%) and nearly $27,000 in annual costs before financial aid kicks in. Though there is some value in going to college, employers know when schools are not exclusive in admissions. Accepting so many applicants devalues each degree.
Do not expect employers to line up for your services if all you’re offering is a degree from Benedict College. You might be better served to go to culinary school and learn to make a mean eggs benedict.
10. Claflin University
We really are not trying to beat up on HBCUs. We’re simply taking the data as it comes. The data shows that Claflin University is one of many historically black universities that take lots of money from students without returning much value.
One of the more expensive HBCUs, Claflin University, demands more than $33,000 in total annual costs, yet only about 50% of students graduate.
11. Central State University
It is always confusing when the word before “State” in a university’s name is not an actual state. In cases like “Memphis State,” you can get away with it. However, “Central State” University is as confusing as it gets. Central where?
Central Ohio, it turns out. Based in Wilberforce, Ohio, Central State is another HBCU with high admissions rates and low graduate turnout.
12. New England College
A non-profit college in New Hampshire, New England College looks like a lovely place. However, with an annual cost nearing $60,000, a graduation rate near 30%, and an (inexplicable) acceptance rate of 100%, New England College seems like a very costly way to fritter away a couple of years before spending your remaining years regretting the student loans.
13. Savannah College of Art and Design
One less to take away from this list: If you’re going to go to art school, make it a prestigious one. And make sure you’re good at what you do.
Otherwise, you risk attending a school with nearly $60,000 in annual costs and an acceptance rate above 80%. Those figures mean your degree won’t be worth very much, but you’ll have plenty of debt to show for your graphic design skills!
14. Sullivan University
Louisville, KY-based Sullivan University is a private, for-profit school offering “career-focused higher education.” While the school’s information technology (IT) program is rated highly, only 30% of Sullivan University students graduate. This means you could rack up debt without any degree that could help you pay the debt back.
15. South Carolina State University
Here’s the bottom line: If you are considering attending a historically Black college or university, you may want to reconsider. South Carolina State is the next in a long line of HBCUs with a high acceptance rate (87.6%), a relatively low graduation rate (just below 40%), and little prestige in the job market.
16. Tuskegee University
Formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee University costs nearly $42,000 years. While it is far more selective than most HBCUs, with an acceptance rate of about 34%, its programs rank low nationally. You would be better served to invest that money at a school with more renowned programs.
17. Texas Southern University
This list may also be named “HBCUs” that you should seriously reconsider attending. Houston-based Texas Southern University has strongly rated criminal justice and communications programs but has many other programs you would not be wise to pay for. The school is not especially expensive (by college standards), but the school is not very selective in its admissions, either.
18. School of Visual Arts
Another school name that would fit nicely on a fake diploma used to fool your proud parents (who funded your “college education” for the past four years), the School of Visual Arts, may as well be made up. How can a school that accepts nearly 72% of students also charge almost $73,000 annually for its degrees? It does so because it can. That doesn’t mean you should pay Ivy League tuition for a piece of paper from the “School of Visual Arts.”
19. Bethune-Cookman University
Isn’t it interesting that you can’t say “HBCUs aren’t proving to be a solid investment” without “BCU?” Add Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida, to the list of historically black colleges and universities that accept an astounding percentage of applicants (nearly 100%, in this case!) while charging tuition on par with more exclusive schools.
Follow the advice of former NFL legend Ed Reed, and don’t trust Bethune-Cookman’s promises of grandeur.
20. East Coast Polytechnic Institute (ECPI) University
When an “Institute” is also a “University,” you should consider it a red flag. If your school does not realize these terms are grammatically redundant, you should question everything about that institute…university…see what I mean? Based in Virginia Beach, VA, this school accepts more than 80% of applicants.
Though you may find a worthwhile program or two at ECPI and can graduate early, thanks to accelerated schedule offerings, choose your program wisely. Don’t expect a general ECPI University degree to carry much weight with prospective employers.
21. Alcorn State University
We completely support universities intended to primarily serve specific population groups, serving as a source of pride and community unified behind a greater purpose. We just wish more of the HBCUs (including Alcorn State) offered their student bodies more well-respected programs and degrees.
While Alcorn State is one of the more selective HBCUs, only one program ranks within the top 150 for that learning path.
22. Manhattan School of Music
Data from Georgetown University ranked the Manhattan School of Music as the least valuable degree in the United States. Ten years after graduation, graduates from this school find their degree worth a negative $155,000. Art schools are a gamble, period.
23. Beacon College
Leesburg, FL-based Beacon College markets itself as a university for “students who learn differently.” By “learn differently,” the school means “enjoy debt.” According to Georgetown data, the ten-year value of a Beacon College degree is negative $118,000.
That Beacon you see in the distance, barely cutting through the foggy haze of prospective colleges? It’s telling you to avoid the sharp rocks of crushing debt straight ahead.
24. New England Conservatory of Music
Georgetown’s data about the least valuable degrees proves that music degrees are highly risky. Ten years after graduating, NECM students find their degree worth a negative $90,000. Those students would have been far better off relying on their musical talent alone rather than starting their careers deep in a financial hole.
Source: (Degree Choices).
