by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Carnegie Mellon University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at Carnegie Mellon, 34% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $8,203 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $3,578, representing 65.1% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Carnegie Mellon, 34% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $4,785 annually. This works out to 33.7% above the $3,578 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $9,570 across two years and $19,140 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 34% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,785 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,447 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $11,709,490 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Carnegie Mellon carry a median federal debt of $20,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $20,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $15,097 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Carnegie Mellon.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $6,000 |
| 25th percentile | $14,000 |
| 75th percentile | $30,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,912 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Carnegie Mellon.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Carnegie Mellon.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 456 | $35,347 |
| Completed (graduates) | 333 | $37,130 |
| Did not complete | 123 | $30,350 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $441.52/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 Carnegie Mellon.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 438 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 18 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 375 | $36,361 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 81 | $31,956 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Carnegie Mellon.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Carnegie Mellon follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 0.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1362 |
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 | $19,000 |
| Middle income | $20,548 |
| High income | $20,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $20,250 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Carnegie Mellon.
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.
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.