by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of Jamestown: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at UJ, 62% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, at roughly $9,160 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,877. 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 UJ (freshmen included), 63% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $6,943 a year. That amounts to 18.1% higher than the first-year federal average of $5,877.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,886 after two years and $27,772 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 | 63% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,943 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 592 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,110,202 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UJ carry a median federal debt of $15,897 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,897 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for UJ.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,880 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at UJ.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at UJ.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 115 | $14,432 |
| Completed (graduates) | 50 | $19,209 |
| Did not complete | 65 | $11,519 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $228.42/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at UJ.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 105 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 10 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. UJ.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for UJ is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 292 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,635 |
| Middle income | $19,250 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,824 |
| Independent students | $15,911 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UJ.
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.