by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Duke University: 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.
Among first-year students at Duke, 14% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $11,454 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,387, or about 79.8% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Across the full undergraduate body at Duke (freshmen included), 14% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $4,972 in federal loans per year. That is 13.3% larger than the $4,387 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $9,944 after two years and $19,888 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 14% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,972 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 885 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,400,419 |
The median student at Duke borrows $12,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $13,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Duke.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $3,750 |
| 75th percentile | $19,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $26,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Duke.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Duke.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 800 | $27,936 |
| Completed (graduates) | 712 | $27,998 |
| Did not complete | 88 | $24,215 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $332.93/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Duke.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 769 | $27,500 |
| No Stafford loan | 31 | $50,590 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 625 | $28,609 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 175 | $27,100 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Duke.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Duke is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 0.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2119 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,500 |
| Middle income | $10,596 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,125 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $10,885 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Duke.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
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.