by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Creighton University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Creighton, 46% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $9,841 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,298, representing 96.3% 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.
For undergraduates overall at Creighton, 42% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $6,503 in federal loans per year. This is 22.7% higher than the first-year federal average of $5,298.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $13,006 across two years and $26,012 by the fourth year. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 42% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,503 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,788 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $11,626,978 |
The middle borrower at Creighton owes $21,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,755 |
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 Creighton.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $30,600 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,317 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Creighton.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Creighton.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 804 | $27,414 |
| Completed (graduates) | 643 | $31,504 |
| Did not complete | 161 | $16,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $374.62/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Creighton.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 693 | $28,946 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 111 | $15,813 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Creighton.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Creighton appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1640 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $24,950 |
| Middle income | $22,000 |
| High income | $20,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $22,068 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,500 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Creighton.
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.
Did You Know?
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.