by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Dakota College at Bottineau: 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.
For incoming students at MSU-Bottineau, 47% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $5,931 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,780, which is 86.9% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. 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 MSU-Bottineau (freshmen included), 42% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $5,872 annually. This is 22.8% higher than the first-year federal average of $4,780.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,744 across two years and $23,488 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 42% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,872 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 177 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,039,419 |
The middle borrower at MSU-Bottineau owes $8,421 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,421 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,507 |
| 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 MSU-Bottineau.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,561 |
| 75th percentile | $11,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,170 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at MSU-Bottineau.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at MSU-Bottineau.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 52 | $5,934 |
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 MSU-Bottineau.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 40 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 12 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for MSU-Bottineau.
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 MSU-Bottineau follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 230 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,389 |
| Middle income | $8,250 |
| High income | $8,750 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,357 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,612 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,942 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for MSU-Bottineau.
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.