by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Goodwin 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.
At Goodwin specifically, 68% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $6,075 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $6,075. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at Goodwin, 81% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $8,316 each per year. That is 36.9% more than the freshman federal average of $6,075.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $16,632 by year two and around $33,264 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 81% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,316 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,240 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $18,627,707 |
The median student at Goodwin borrows $14,221 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,221 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $33,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
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 Goodwin.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $29,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $44,849 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Goodwin.
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 Goodwin.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 777 | $12,023 |
| Completed (graduates) | 254 | $12,989 |
| Did not complete | 523 | $11,694 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $154.45/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 Goodwin.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 718 | $11,862 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 59 | $14,762 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Goodwin.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Goodwin is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1264 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,260 |
| Middle income | $14,750 |
| High income | $15,046 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,952 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,463 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,710 |
| Independent students | $14,992 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Goodwin.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
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.