by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Notre Dame de Namur University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Across the full undergraduate body at NDNU (freshmen included), 21% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $7,357 per year.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $14,714 in two years and roughly $29,428 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 21% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,357 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $22,072 |
The middle borrower at NDNU owes $16,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $11,000 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for NDNU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $11,000 |
| 75th percentile | $29,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at NDNU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at NDNU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 272 | $28,968 |
| Completed (graduates) | 121 | $38,669 |
| Did not complete | 151 | $22,621 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $459.82/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at NDNU.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 256 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 16 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for NDNU.
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 NDNU is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 462 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,750 |
| Middle income | $17,500 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,875 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,375 |
| Independent students | $22,550 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at NDNU.
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
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.