by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Brigham Young University-Idaho: 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.
Among first-year students at BYU - I, 14% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $5,367 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,366, equal to roughly 97.6% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at BYU - I, freshmen included, 11% take out federal student loans, for a typical $7,825 each per year. That amounts to 45.8% higher than the freshman federal average of $5,366.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $15,650 across two years and $31,300 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 11% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,825 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 4,608 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $36,056,439 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at BYU - I carry a median federal debt of $8,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $13,969 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,754 |
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 BYU - I.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,069 |
| 25th percentile | $3,627 |
| 75th percentile | $13,980 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $22,930 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at BYU - I.
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 BYU - I.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 389 | $7,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 146 | $7,556 |
| Did not complete | 243 | $7,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $89.85/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at BYU - I.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 377 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 12 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 230 | $6,692 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 159 | $8,004 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. BYU - I.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for BYU - I is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3130 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,539 |
| Middle income | $8,540 |
| High income | $9,230 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,215 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,250 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,250 |
| Independent students | $9,896 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at BYU - I.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.