by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Dominican University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Dominican U specifically, 48% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $5,213 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $4,745, amounting to 86.3% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical 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 Dominican U (freshmen included), 53% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $6,095 a year. That is 28.5% greater than the first-year federal average of $4,745.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,190 over two years and about $24,380 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 53% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,095 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,199 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $7,308,223 |
The middle borrower at Dominican U owes $18,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,411 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Dominican U.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Dominican U.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Dominican U.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 425 | $19,323 |
| Completed (graduates) | 270 | $19,865 |
| Did not complete | 155 | $18,813 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $236.22/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Dominican U.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 362 | $19,387 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 63 | $18,813 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Dominican U.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Dominican U is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 960 |
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 | $17,617 |
| Middle income | $19,000 |
| High income | $19,422 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,750 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,000 |
| Independent students | $14,900 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Dominican U.
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?
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.