by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Bellus Academy: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at Bellus Academy, 70% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $11,630 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $8,770. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at Bellus Academy, 55% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $7,373 each per year. This is 15.9% under the $8,770 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,746 across two years and $29,492 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 55% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,373 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 184 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,356,647 |
The middle borrower at Bellus Academy owes $6,333 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,333 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,917 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Bellus Academy.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,200 |
| 25th percentile | $4,998 |
| 75th percentile | $12,417 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $17,255 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Bellus Academy.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at Bellus Academy.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 100 | $10,173 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Bellus Academy.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Bellus Academy follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 241 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,360 |
| Middle income | $6,333 |
| High income | $5,583 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,333 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,333 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $6,416 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Bellus Academy.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Worth Knowing
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.