by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Brite Divinity School— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
The middle borrower at Brite Divinity owes $19,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Brite Divinity.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,750 |
| 75th percentile | $26,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Brite Divinity.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Brite Divinity.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 839 | $48,156 |
| Completed (graduates) | 658 | $54,925 |
| Did not complete | 181 | $31,429 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $653.12/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 Brite Divinity.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 804 | $46,957 |
| No Stafford loan | 35 | $58,870 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 737 | $50,531 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 102 | $28,300 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Brite Divinity.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Brite Divinity is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1347 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,000 |
| Middle income | $18,959 |
| High income | $18,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,500 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Brite Divinity.
Subsidized vs. 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.
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.