by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Grand Canyon University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Grand Canyon University specifically, 56% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $8,081 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,377, or about 97.8% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at Grand Canyon University, 55% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $7,759 each per year. It comes to 44.3% greater than the first-year federal average of $5,377.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $15,518 after two years and $31,036 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 | 55% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,759 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 37,603 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $291,745,162 |
The median student at Grand Canyon University borrows $12,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,114 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,533 |
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 Grand Canyon University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,250 |
| 25th percentile | $4,977 |
| 75th percentile | $20,313 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Grand Canyon University.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Grand Canyon University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 13967 | $11,899 |
| Completed (graduates) | 7083 | $12,981 |
| Did not complete | 6884 | $10,782 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $154.36/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 Grand Canyon University.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 13849 | $11,905 |
| No Stafford loan | 118 | $10,672 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 12238 | $12,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1729 | $10,793 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Grand Canyon University.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Grand Canyon University is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 21392 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,764 |
| Middle income | $13,842 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,301 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $12,670 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Grand Canyon University.
Subsidized and 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.
Did You Know?
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.