Just so we’re all clear this isn’t a one-off occurrence, here’s what Jeff Selingo tweeted on July 16:
“Whitman College previously said the average federal debt of its 2020 graduates was $4,854 and 25% of those graduates had debt. After the college revised those numbers, the average debt of 2020 graduates was $17,298 and 37% of them held debt.”
In the end, this is going to look a lot like the for-external-eyes bookkeeping of Vegas casinos. I’d be willing to bet most of the highly ranked schools on the USNWR list have some discrepancy(ies) that won’t stand up to heavy scrutiny.
EDIT: Selingo follows that with…
“Villanova University, which has had a deliberate strategy to move up the rankings and switch categories (to national universities) over the last decade:
originally reported its average 2021 need-based grant was $51,739. The correct amount is $40,323.”