by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at CMU CLAS, 59% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $8,052 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $5,474, representing 99.5% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at CMU CLAS (freshmen included), 61% rely on federal student loans toward their education, for a typical $6,473 per year. That is 18.2% above the first-year federal average of $5,474.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,946 across two years and $25,892 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 61% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,473 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 622 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,025,905 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at CMU CLAS carry a median federal debt of $13,292 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $13,292 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $17,619 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 CMU CLAS.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,070 |
| 25th percentile | $5,845 |
| 75th percentile | $21,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at CMU CLAS.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for CMU CLAS.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 593 | $15,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 244 | $13,500 |
| Did not complete | 349 | $16,254 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $160.53/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at CMU CLAS.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 580 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 13 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 371 | $11,750 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 222 | $21,976 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at CMU CLAS.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for CMU CLAS is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 613 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,876 |
| Middle income | $13,750 |
| High income | $13,100 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,567 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $14,757 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at CMU CLAS.
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.
Worth Knowing
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.