by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Dominican University of California: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at DUofC, 67% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $8,434 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,177, which is 94.1% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at DUofC (freshmen included), 58% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $6,531 a year. This works out to 26.2% larger than the $5,177 freshmen take on.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,062 in two years and roughly $26,124 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 58% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,531 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 682 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,454,222 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at DUofC carry a median federal debt of $24,250 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $24,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $11,613 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for DUofC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $6,388 |
| 25th percentile | $15,000 |
| 75th percentile | $30,625 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $38,166 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at DUofC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for DUofC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 284 | $43,004 |
| Completed (graduates) | 208 | $54,119 |
| Did not complete | 76 | $29,514 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $643.53/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at DUofC.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 261 | $44,619 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 23 | $18,469 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. DUofC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for DUofC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 551 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $23,375 |
| Middle income | $21,769 |
| High income | $25,624 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $25,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $24,250 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at DUofC.
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.
Did You Know?
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.