by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Champlain College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Champlain, 62% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $9,729 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,220, equal to roughly 94.9% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at Champlain, 52% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $7,054 in federal loans per year. This works out to 35.1% higher than the $5,220 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $14,108 after two years and $28,216 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 52% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,054 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,497 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $10,559,161 |
The middle borrower at Champlain owes $19,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,814 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,700 |
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 Champlain.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,769 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,800 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,050 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Champlain.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Champlain.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 823 | $25,836 |
| Completed (graduates) | 447 | $35,886 |
| Did not complete | 376 | $21,374 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $426.72/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Champlain.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 807 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 16 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 598 | $31,946 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 225 | $16,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Champlain.
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 Champlain is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 908 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,201 |
| Middle income | $20,495 |
| High income | $20,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,761 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,875 |
| Independent students | $18,703 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Champlain.
Subsidized and 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?
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.