by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Duquesne University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Duquesne, 77% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $12,477 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $4,818, amounting to 87.6% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at Duquesne (freshmen included), 68% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $5,948 a year. That is 23.5% larger than the $4,818 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $11,896 by year two and around $23,792 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 | 68% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,948 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,524 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $20,959,133 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Duquesne carry a median federal debt of $23,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $23,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,244 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Duquesne.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,250 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Duquesne.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Duquesne.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1431 | $48,352 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1115 | $57,511 |
| Did not complete | 316 | $26,077 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $683.87/mo.
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 Duquesne.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1416 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 15 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1336 | $51,250 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 95 | $21,800 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Duquesne.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Duquesne is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2201 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,250 |
| Middle income | $24,069 |
| High income | $24,889 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,548 |
| Continuing-generation students | $23,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $24,684 |
| Independent students | $12,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Duquesne.
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.