by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Liberty University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Liberty University specifically, 51% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $8,360 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,471, or about 99.5% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Across the full undergraduate body at Liberty University (freshmen included), 49% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $7,382 annually. That is 34.9% above the freshman federal average of $5,471.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,764 across two years and $29,528 across a four-year program. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 49% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,382 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 24,476 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $180,679,232 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Liberty University carry a median federal debt of $15,943 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,943 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Liberty University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,167 |
| 25th percentile | $5,902 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $39,016 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Liberty University.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Liberty University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 11801 | $15,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 5356 | $16,398 |
| Did not complete | 6445 | $13,965 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $194.99/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Liberty University.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 11690 | $15,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 111 | $13,468 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 9379 | $15,727 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 2422 | $12,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Liberty University.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Liberty University appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 14234 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,935 |
| Middle income | $16,666 |
| High income | $16,892 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,828 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $16,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Liberty University.
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
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.