by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Eureka College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Eureka College specifically, 88% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $6,998 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,527. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Looking at all undergraduates at Eureka College, freshmen included, 77% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $6,362 a year. This works out to 15.1% larger than the $5,527 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,724 by year two and around $25,448 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 77% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,362 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 403 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,564,032 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Eureka College carry a median federal debt of $15,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,099 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Eureka College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,125 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,925 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,210 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Eureka College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Eureka College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 88 | $18,458 |
| Completed (graduates) | 47 | $20,502 |
| Did not complete | 41 | $13,423 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $243.79/mo.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Eureka College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Eureka College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 226 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,875 |
| Middle income | $15,000 |
| High income | $15,750 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,375 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $14,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Eureka College.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.