by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Chapman University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Chapman, 79% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $7,096 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $5,611. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Counting every undergraduate at Chapman, 62% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $6,669 annually. This is 18.9% higher than the $5,611 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,338 after two years and $26,676 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 62% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,669 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 4,751 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $31,684,322 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Chapman carry a median federal debt of $17,750 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Chapman.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $10,000 |
| 75th percentile | $26,848 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,750 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Chapman.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Chapman.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1431 | $40,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1053 | $44,954 |
| Did not complete | 378 | $28,683 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $534.55/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Chapman.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1394 | $40,252 |
| No Stafford loan | 37 | $28,561 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1368 | $40,613 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 63 | $27,263 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Chapman.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Chapman follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4069 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,000 |
| Middle income | $18,750 |
| High income | $16,851 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,517 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,589 |
| Independent students | $23,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Chapman.
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.
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.