by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Marquette University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at Marquette, 44% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $9,660 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $5,531. 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.
For undergraduates overall at Marquette, 41% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,536 each per year. This is 18.2% greater than the $5,531 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,072 by year two and around $26,144 over a four-year span. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 41% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,536 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,936 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $19,190,935 |
The middle borrower at Marquette owes $20,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $20,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,940 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,639 |
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 Marquette.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $32,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $38,496 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Marquette.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Marquette.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1254 | $38,249 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1018 | $45,500 |
| Did not complete | 236 | $23,138 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $541.04/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Marquette.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1228 | $38,462 |
| No Stafford loan | 26 | $21,243 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1139 | $41,725 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 115 | $18,067 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Marquette.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Marquette is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1989 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,738 |
| Middle income | $19,800 |
| High income | $21,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,891 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,292 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,500 |
| Independent students | $22,304 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Marquette.
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.
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.