by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Hamline University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Hamline specifically, 64% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $9,601 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,575. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at Hamline (freshmen included), 59% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $6,567 in federal loans per year. This is 17.8% larger than the $5,575 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,134 by year two and around $26,268 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 59% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,567 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 991 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,507,406 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Hamline carry a median federal debt of $15,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,770 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Hamline.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,088 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Hamline.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Hamline.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 584 | $19,238 |
| Completed (graduates) | 356 | $22,739 |
| Did not complete | 228 | $16,039 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $270.39/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Hamline.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 530 | $19,405 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 54 | $16,842 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Hamline.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Hamline follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1444 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $16,125 |
| Middle income | $14,250 |
| High income | $16,063 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,725 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,750 |
| Independent students | $17,375 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Hamline.
The Difference Between 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.
Worth Knowing
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.