by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Ross Medical Education Center - Huntsville— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at Ross - Huntsville, 68% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $6,863 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,858. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Counting every undergraduate at Ross - Huntsville, 55% take out federal student loans, at an average of $6,246 in federal loans per year. This works out to 6.6% above the $5,858 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,492 by year two and around $24,984 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 55% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,246 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 108 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $674,515 |
The middle borrower at Ross - Huntsville owes $7,504 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,504 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Ross - Huntsville.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $9,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Ross - Huntsville.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Ross - Huntsville.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 65 | $5,925 |
| Completed (graduates) | 44 | $5,962 |
| Did not complete | 21 | $5,798 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $70.89/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Ross - Huntsville.
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 Ross - Huntsville is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1497 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,599 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Ross - Huntsville.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Important to Remember
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.