by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Denison 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.
For incoming students at Denison, 59% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $7,614 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,536. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Denison, 51% rely on federal student loans toward their education, for a typical $6,878 annually. It comes to 24.2% more than the first-year federal average of $5,536.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $13,756 by year two and around $27,512 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 51% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,878 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,215 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,357,317 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Denison carry a median federal debt of $21,250 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,000 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Denison.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $10,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Denison.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Denison.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 143 | $40,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 102 | $45,521 |
| Did not complete | 41 | $30,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $541.29/mo.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Denison.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Denison is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 275 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,500 |
| Middle income | $21,393 |
| High income | $22,061 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $21,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Denison.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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
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.