by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Menlo College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at Menlo, 53% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $6,681 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,283, which is 96.1% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 Menlo (freshmen included), 45% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $6,862 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 29.9% higher than the $5,283 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,724 by year two and around $27,448 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 45% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,862 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 364 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,497,686 |
The middle borrower at Menlo owes $13,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $13,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Menlo.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,924 |
| 25th percentile | $7,237 |
| 75th percentile | $25,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Menlo.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Menlo.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 98 | $36,347 |
| Completed (graduates) | 46 | $36,347 |
| Did not complete | 52 | $36,592 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $432.2/mo.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Menlo.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Menlo follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 168 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,000 |
| Middle income | $17,750 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,125 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,000 |
| Independent students | $19,284 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Menlo.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
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.