Distressed Colleges Index
How close is your college from bankruptcy?
Methodology →
Rank Score Financial Health ?Healthy (0–20): stable enrollment, selective admissions, growing endowment.

Normal (20–50): modest headwinds but resilient balance sheet.

Distressed (50–75): multiple stress signals; runway is narrowing.

Walking Zombies (75–100): full constellation of collapse signals; closure or merger likely within five years.
School City State Cost ?Average annual in-state cost of attendance after financial aid. Source: US Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Admit % ?Share of applicants admitted in the most recently reported year. Lower means more selective. Adm Δ pp ?Change in admission rate since 2015, in percentage points. A positive number means the school is admitting a larger share of applicants — typically a sign of a weakening applicant pool. Undergrads ?Total undergraduate enrollment in the most recently reported year. Enroll Δ % ?Percent change in undergraduate enrollment from 2015 to the most recently reported year. Negative numbers indicate enrollment loss — the single strongest predictor of fiscal distress. Endow $M ?Total endowment, in millions of dollars, for the most recently reported fiscal year. Endow Real Δ ?Change in total endowment from FY2015 to the most recent fiscal year, adjusted for CPI-U inflation. Negative numbers mean the endowment has shrunk in real terms.