by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Bethel 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.
Among first-year students at Bethel University Minnesota, 59% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $10,790 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,411, amounting to 98.4% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at Bethel University Minnesota, 58% take out federal student loans, at an average of $6,552 in federal loans per year. It comes to 21.1% more than the $5,411 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,104 over two years and about $26,208 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 | 58% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,552 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,153 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $7,554,370 |
The median student at Bethel University Minnesota borrows $18,272 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,272 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $11,000 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Bethel University Minnesota.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $9,294 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Bethel University Minnesota.
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 Bethel University Minnesota.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 506 | $18,487 |
| Completed (graduates) | 258 | $24,157 |
| Did not complete | 248 | $15,776 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $287.25/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at Bethel University Minnesota.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 443 | $19,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 63 | $15,325 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Bethel University Minnesota.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Bethel University Minnesota appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1317 |
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 | $13,500 |
| Middle income | $17,652 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,158 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $12,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Bethel University Minnesota.
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.
Did You Know?
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.