by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Elon University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at Elon, 29% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $10,545 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,286, representing 96.1% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Elon, 25% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $6,266 in federal loans per year. This is 18.5% above the $5,286 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,532 in two years and roughly $25,064 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 | 25% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,266 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,565 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $9,806,796 |
The middle borrower at Elon owes $18,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Elon.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Elon.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Elon.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 632 | $43,981 |
| Completed (graduates) | 492 | $46,609 |
| Did not complete | 140 | $32,098 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $554.23/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 Elon.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 606 | $44,026 |
| No Stafford loan | 26 | $39,219 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 591 | $44,142 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 41 | $32,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Elon.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Elon is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 896 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,875 |
| Middle income | $17,500 |
| High income | $18,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,750 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Elon.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Worth Knowing
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.