by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Aquinas College— 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 Aquinas College Michigan, 63% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $7,589 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $5,796. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Across the full undergraduate body at Aquinas College Michigan (freshmen included), 71% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $6,793 in federal loans per year. This is 17.2% larger than the freshman federal average of $5,796.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,586 by year two and around $27,172 across a four-year program. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 71% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,793 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 766 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,203,195 |
The middle borrower at Aquinas College Michigan owes $17,992 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,992 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,563 |
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 Aquinas College Michigan.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,000 |
| 25th percentile | $8,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Aquinas College Michigan.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Aquinas College Michigan.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 179 | $18,235 |
| Completed (graduates) | 96 | $24,361 |
| Did not complete | 83 | $13,500 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $289.68/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Aquinas College Michigan.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 147 | $18,235 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 32 | $17,555 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Aquinas College Michigan.
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 Aquinas College Michigan is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 530 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,250 |
| Middle income | $18,569 |
| High income | $15,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,700 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,812 |
| Independent students | $19,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Aquinas College Michigan.
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.
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.