by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Bethune-Cookman 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.
Among first-year students at Bethune - Cookman University, 82% of first-year students take on loan debt, at roughly $6,216 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,875. 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.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Bethune - Cookman University, 82% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $9,282 each per year. This works out to 58.0% greater than the $5,875 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $18,564 by year two and around $37,128 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 82% |
| Average federal loan per year | $9,282 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,981 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $18,388,144 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Bethune - Cookman University carry a median federal debt of $22,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $22,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $31,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,000 |
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 Bethune - Cookman University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $9,500 |
| 75th percentile | $34,439 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $46,250 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Bethune - Cookman University.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Bethune - Cookman University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1030 | $20,507 |
| Completed (graduates) | 516 | $29,770 |
| Did not complete | 514 | $15,652 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $354.0/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Bethune - Cookman University.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1018 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 12 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1010 | $20,844 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 20 | $9,951 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Bethune - Cookman University.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Bethune - Cookman University appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1192 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $24,250 |
| Middle income | $21,250 |
| High income | $20,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $22,551 |
| Continuing-generation students | $22,250 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $22,509 |
| Independent students | $22,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Bethune - Cookman University.
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.
Important to Remember
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.