by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Allen University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Allen U specifically, 75% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $5,906 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $5,729. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at Allen U, 80% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $7,819 per year. It comes to 36.5% higher than the $5,729 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $15,638 by year two and around $31,276 across a four-year program. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 80% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,819 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 509 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,979,995 |
The middle borrower at Allen U owes $12,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $34,290 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Allen U.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,750 |
| 25th percentile | $8,525 |
| 75th percentile | $35,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $45,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Allen U.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Allen U.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 208 | $9,727 |
| Completed (graduates) | 54 | $11,592 |
| Did not complete | 154 | $9,383 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $137.84/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Allen U.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 196 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 12 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Allen U.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Allen U follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 19.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 366 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,269 |
| Middle income | $11,000 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,813 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $10,480 |
| Independent students | $19,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Allen U.
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.
Did You Know?
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.