by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Hiram College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at Hiram, 78% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $7,678 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,596. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at Hiram, 75% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $9,563 per year. That amounts to 70.9% above the $5,596 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $19,126 across two years and $38,252 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 75% |
| Average federal loan per year | $9,563 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 549 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,250,199 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Hiram carry a median federal debt of $19,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| 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.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Hiram.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,399 |
| 25th percentile | $9,950 |
| 75th percentile | $30,937 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $41,585 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Hiram.
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 Hiram.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 166 | $19,778 |
| Completed (graduates) | 99 | $26,700 |
| Did not complete | 67 | $12,928 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $317.49/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Hiram.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 156 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 10 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Hiram.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Hiram is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 395 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,480 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $24,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $16,750 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Hiram.
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.