by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Arlington Baptist University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at ABU, 69% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $5,964 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,260, representing 95.6% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Counting every undergraduate at ABU, 68% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $6,271 each per year. That is 19.2% above the first-year federal average of $5,260.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,542 by year two and around $25,084 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 68% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,271 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 188 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,179,030 |
The middle borrower at ABU owes $9,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for ABU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $39,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at ABU.
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 ABU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 44 | $13,070 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. ABU.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for ABU is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 59 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $6,864 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,375 |
| Independent students | $21,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at ABU.
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.
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.