by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Ave Maria University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At AMU specifically, 47% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $9,303 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,445, representing 99.0% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Looking at all undergraduates at AMU, freshmen included, 46% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $6,400 in federal loans per year. This is 17.5% more than the freshman federal average of $5,445.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,800 over two years and about $25,600 by the fourth year. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 46% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,400 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 565 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,615,929 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at AMU carry a median federal debt of $12,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,776 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
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 AMU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,830 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at AMU.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for AMU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 128 | $20,361 |
| Completed (graduates) | 64 | $37,017 |
| Did not complete | 64 | $14,885 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $440.17/mo.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. AMU.
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 AMU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 191 |
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 | $10,875 |
| Middle income | $12,000 |
| High income | $12,676 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,250 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for AMU.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
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.