by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Gallaudet University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Gallaudet, 42% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $6,220 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $5,373, amounting to 97.7% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Gallaudet, 40% take out federal student loans, for a typical $7,086 each per year. That amounts to 31.9% higher than the $5,373 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $14,172 across two years and $28,344 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 | 40% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,086 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 351 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,487,117 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Gallaudet carry a median federal debt of $12,750 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Gallaudet.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,173 |
| 75th percentile | $21,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,250 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Gallaudet.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at Gallaudet.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 126 | $15,061 |
| Completed (graduates) | 84 | $15,442 |
| Did not complete | 42 | $15,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $183.62/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Gallaudet.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 110 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 16 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Gallaudet.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Gallaudet is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 286 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,000 |
| Middle income | $13,594 |
| High income | $12,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,813 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,742 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $16,675 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Gallaudet.
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.