by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend College of Saint Benedict: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at CSB, 63% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $11,017 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $5,161, amounting to 93.8% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at CSB (freshmen included), 63% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $6,430 in federal loans per year. This is 24.6% higher than the freshman federal average of $5,161.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,860 in two years and roughly $25,720 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 63% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,430 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 877 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,638,942 |
The median student at CSB borrows $23,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $23,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,944 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
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 CSB.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $28,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at CSB.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for CSB.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 81 | $15,778 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. CSB.
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 CSB is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 0.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 423 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $22,667 |
| Middle income | $22,750 |
| High income | $23,252 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $23,250 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at CSB.
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.
Important to Remember
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.