by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for McPherson College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at McPherson College, 70% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $7,418 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,264, representing 95.7% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at McPherson College, 64% take out federal student loans, at an average of $6,320 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 20.1% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,264.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,640 over two years and about $25,280 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 64% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,320 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 502 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,172,769 |
The middle borrower at McPherson College owes $13,833 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $13,833 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,242 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at McPherson College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,596 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at McPherson College.
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 McPherson College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 169 | $20,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 67 | $43,617 |
| Did not complete | 102 | $14,780 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $518.65/mo.
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for McPherson College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for McPherson College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 182 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,375 |
| Middle income | $14,521 |
| High income | $14,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,250 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,750 |
| Independent students | $14,611 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at McPherson College.
Subsidized vs. 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
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.