by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Bluefield University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Bluefield College, 75% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $6,302 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,520. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the 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 Bluefield College, freshmen included, 71% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $6,859 annually. This works out to 24.3% above the freshman federal average of $5,520.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,718 by year two and around $27,436 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 | 71% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,859 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 494 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,388,136 |
The middle borrower at Bluefield College owes $13,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $13,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,855 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,333 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Bluefield College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,166 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $21,875 |
| 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 Bluefield College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Bluefield College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 216 | $11,801 |
| Completed (graduates) | 89 | $21,200 |
| Did not complete | 127 | $9,466 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $252.09/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 Bluefield College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 196 | $11,801 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 20 | $13,240 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Bluefield College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Bluefield College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 364 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $14,031 |
| Middle income | $13,000 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,000 |
| Independent students | $19,758 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Bluefield College.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.