by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Franklin University: 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.
For incoming students at Franklin University, 75% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $5,924 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,697. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Looking at all undergraduates at Franklin University, freshmen included, 45% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $8,431 annually. That is 48.0% above the $5,697 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $16,862 after two years and $33,724 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 45% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,431 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,318 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $19,543,281 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Franklin University carry a median federal debt of $14,238 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,238 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,836 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,874 |
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 Franklin University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,501 |
| 25th percentile | $7,000 |
| 75th percentile | $26,264 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Franklin University.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Franklin University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 991 | $13,500 |
| Completed (graduates) | 371 | $14,061 |
| Did not complete | 620 | $13,229 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $167.2/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Franklin University.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 683 | $14,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 308 | $13,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Franklin University.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Franklin University appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3061 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,623 |
| Middle income | $14,250 |
| High income | $12,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,586 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,696 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,000 |
| Independent students | $16,619 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Franklin University.
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.
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.