by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Cumberland University— 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.
At CU specifically, 19% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $6,357 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,019, or about 91.3% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at CU, 25% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $5,996 annually. This works out to 19.5% higher than the first-year federal average of $5,019.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $11,992 after two years and $23,984 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 25% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,996 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 507 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,040,211 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at CU carry a median federal debt of $11,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $17,952 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at CU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,250 |
| 25th percentile | $5,950 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,250 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at CU.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for CU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 170 | $10,582 |
| Completed (graduates) | 96 | $11,116 |
| Did not complete | 74 | $10,474 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $132.18/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at CU.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 144 | $10,750 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 26 | $10,582 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for CU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for CU is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 462 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $11,080 |
| Middle income | $11,750 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,752 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,250 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $10,275 |
| Independent students | $20,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at CU.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Important to Remember
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.