by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Brandeis University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Brandeis, 27% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $10,214 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $3,799, representing 69.1% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Across the full undergraduate body at Brandeis (freshmen included), 28% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $5,027 in federal loans per year. It comes to 32.3% higher than the first-year federal average of $3,799.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $10,054 over two years and about $20,108 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 28% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,027 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,037 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,213,115 |
The middle borrower at Brandeis owes $23,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $23,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,648 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,380 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Brandeis.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $17,500 |
| 75th percentile | $30,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Brandeis.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Brandeis.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 309 | $30,870 |
| Completed (graduates) | 208 | $35,451 |
| Did not complete | 101 | $24,962 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $421.55/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Brandeis.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 297 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 12 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 230 | $34,694 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 79 | $24,654 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Brandeis.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Brandeis follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 748 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,719 |
| Middle income | $23,500 |
| High income | $24,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $23,250 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $23,250 |
| Independent students | $8,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Brandeis.
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.