by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Metropolitan State University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Metro State, 15% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, at roughly $4,629 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $4,629, representing 84.2% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at Metro State, 33% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $7,532 in federal loans per year. This works out to 62.7% greater than the freshman federal average of $4,629.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $15,064 in two years and roughly $30,128 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 | 33% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,532 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,637 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $12,329,980 |
The middle borrower at Metro State owes $12,900 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,900 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $17,100 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,664 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Metro State.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,250 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,146 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,417 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Metro State.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Metro State.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 589 | $9,325 |
| Completed (graduates) | 271 | $9,000 |
| Did not complete | 318 | $9,643 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $107.02/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Metro State.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 412 | $8,872 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 177 | $10,884 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Metro State.
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 Metro State appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1966 |
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 | $13,490 |
| Middle income | $12,500 |
| High income | $13,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $10,127 |
| Independent students | $14,930 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Metro State.
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
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.