by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Lourdes University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Lourdes, 95% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $5,518 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $4,684, or about 85.2% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at Lourdes (freshmen included), 96% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $5,024 per year. That amounts to 7.3% more than the freshman federal average of $4,684.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $10,048 across two years and $20,096 over four years. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 96% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,024 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 670 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,365,934 |
The median student at Lourdes borrows $19,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,000 |
| 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.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Lourdes.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,114 |
| 25th percentile | $10,039 |
| 75th percentile | $33,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $47,334 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Lourdes.
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 Lourdes.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 227 | $24,594 |
| Completed (graduates) | 139 | $31,810 |
| Did not complete | 88 | $16,027 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $378.25/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Lourdes.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 212 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 15 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Lourdes.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Lourdes follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 814 |
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 | $19,750 |
| Middle income | $17,770 |
| High income | $19,355 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,049 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,500 |
| Independent students | $22,666 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Lourdes.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
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.