by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Concordia University-Saint Paul— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Concordia University, Saint Paul specifically, 53% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $7,716 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $5,416, which is 98.5% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 Concordia University, Saint Paul (freshmen included), 59% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $8,057 a year. That amounts to 48.8% larger than the $5,416 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $16,114 by year two and around $32,228 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 | 59% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,057 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,651 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $13,302,360 |
The middle borrower at Concordia University, Saint Paul owes $12,166 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,166 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $17,832 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,487 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Concordia University, Saint Paul.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,684 |
| 25th percentile | $6,965 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Concordia University, Saint Paul.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Concordia University, Saint Paul.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 712 | $15,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 404 | $15,277 |
| Did not complete | 308 | $14,398 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $181.66/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 Concordia University, Saint Paul.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 585 | $14,642 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 127 | $15,930 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Concordia University, Saint Paul.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Concordia University, Saint Paul follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 968 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,387 |
| Middle income | $12,269 |
| High income | $12,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,228 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $10,564 |
| Independent students | $12,989 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Concordia University, Saint Paul.
Subsidized vs. 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.