by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Biola University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Biola, 47% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $8,922 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,116, which is 93.0% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. 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 Biola, 44% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $6,603 each per year. That is 29.1% more than the first-year federal average of $5,116.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,206 after two years and $26,412 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 44% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,603 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,479 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $9,765,389 |
The middle borrower at Biola owes $19,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,875 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,848 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Biola.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,030 |
| 25th percentile | $9,250 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Biola.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Biola.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 764 | $35,935 |
| Completed (graduates) | 490 | $50,726 |
| Did not complete | 274 | $21,919 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $603.19/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Biola.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 697 | $39,556 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 67 | $13,221 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Biola.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Biola is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1337 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,500 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $18,375 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,656 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,750 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $15,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Biola.
Subsidized vs. 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
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.