by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for MidAmerica Nazarene University— 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.
At MNU, 68% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $8,336 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $5,680. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing 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.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at MNU, 64% take out federal student loans, at an average of $7,653 annually. That amounts to 34.7% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,680.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $15,306 in two years and roughly $30,612 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 | 64% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,653 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 620 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,744,719 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at MNU carry a median federal debt of $12,912 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,912 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $15,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for MNU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,333 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at MNU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at MNU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 526 | $15,550 |
| Completed (graduates) | 159 | $25,700 |
| Did not complete | 367 | $12,635 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $305.6/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at MNU.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 305 | $19,044 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 221 | $11,204 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at MNU.
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 MNU follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 617 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,500 |
| Middle income | $13,620 |
| High income | $12,883 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,050 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,000 |
| Independent students | $12,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at MNU.
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.
Did You Know?
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.