by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Franklin Pierce University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Franklin Pierce, 78% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $8,648 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,490, representing 99.8% 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.
Counting every undergraduate at Franklin Pierce, 71% take out federal student loans, averaging $6,429 per year. This works out to 17.1% higher than the $5,490 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,858 by year two and around $25,716 across a four-year program. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 71% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,429 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 744 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,783,503 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Franklin Pierce carry a median federal debt of $19,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,575 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Franklin Pierce.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Franklin Pierce.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Franklin Pierce.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 499 | $31,599 |
| Completed (graduates) | 308 | $40,638 |
| Did not complete | 191 | $21,138 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $483.23/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Franklin Pierce.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 474 | $32,500 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 25 | $16,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Franklin Pierce.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Franklin Pierce follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 831 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,460 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $20,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,500 |
| Independent students | $10,256 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Franklin Pierce.
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.
Important to Remember
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.