by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Helms College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Helms College, 77% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $6,435 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $6,273. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Counting every undergraduate at Helms College, 61% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $5,625 annually. This is 10.3% lower than the first-year federal average of $6,273.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $11,250 across two years and $22,500 by the fourth year. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 61% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,625 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 91 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $511,877 |
The middle borrower at Helms College owes $8,208 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,208 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,645 |
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 Helms College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,167 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $10,457 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $13,875 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Helms College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Helms College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 56 | $5,880 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Helms College.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,913 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,208 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,289 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,208 |
| Independent students | $8,718 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Helms College.
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.
Did You Know?
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.