by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Miles College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Miles College, 78% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $6,331 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $6,201. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at Miles College (freshmen included), 73% take out federal student loans, averaging $7,099 in federal loans per year. It comes to 14.5% more than the $6,201 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $14,198 by year two and around $28,396 across a four-year program. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 73% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,099 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 839 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,956,102 |
The median student at Miles College borrows $15,691 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,691 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $31,217 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,200 |
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 Miles College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,783 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,271 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,998 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Miles College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Miles College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 548 | $10,283 |
| Completed (graduates) | 113 | $15,500 |
| Did not complete | 435 | $10,264 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $184.31/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Miles College.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 535 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 13 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Miles College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Miles College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 21.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 765 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,500 |
| Middle income | $14,250 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,311 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,999 |
| Independent students | $18,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Miles College.
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.