by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Brigham Young University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at BYU, 8% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $5,759 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $5,560. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at BYU, 11% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $6,088 per year. This works out to 9.5% higher than the $5,560 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,176 after two years and $24,352 over a four-year span. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 11% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,088 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,465 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $21,094,748 |
The median student at BYU borrows $8,310 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,310 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,069 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,241 |
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 BYU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,018 |
| 75th percentile | $16,435 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $26,683 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at BYU.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for BYU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 272 | $10,532 |
| Completed (graduates) | 136 | $9,699 |
| Did not complete | 136 | $10,965 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $115.33/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at BYU.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 229 | $10,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 43 | $14,289 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at BYU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for BYU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3729 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $8,000 |
| Middle income | $9,000 |
| High income | $8,250 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,454 |
| Independent students | $8,250 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at BYU.
The Difference Between 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.