by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Indiana University-Bloomington, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At IU Bloomington, 33% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $9,937 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $5,063, which is 92.1% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at IU Bloomington (freshmen included), 27% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $5,947 a year. That amounts to 17.5% greater than the $5,063 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $11,894 after two years and $23,788 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 27% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,947 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 9,926 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $59,028,611 |
The middle borrower at IU Bloomington owes $15,519 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,519 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $19,509 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,887 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at IU Bloomington.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,000 |
| 25th percentile | $7,110 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at IU Bloomington.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at IU Bloomington.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2932 | $27,060 |
| Completed (graduates) | 2051 | $32,850 |
| Did not complete | 881 | $19,970 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $390.62/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at IU Bloomington.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2829 | $27,200 |
| No Stafford loan | 103 | $23,811 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2426 | $28,328 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 506 | $22,927 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for IU Bloomington.
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 IU Bloomington is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 6676 |
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 | $12,000 |
| Middle income | $14,000 |
| High income | $18,438 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,506 |
| Independent students | $16,700 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for IU Bloomington.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Important to Remember
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.