by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Minnesota State University Moorhead, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At MSU Moorhead, 62% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $9,047 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,345, representing 97.2% 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at MSU Moorhead (freshmen included), 53% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $6,526 annually. That amounts to 22.1% larger than the $5,345 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $13,052 in two years and roughly $26,104 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 53% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,526 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,647 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $10,748,513 |
The middle borrower at MSU Moorhead owes $15,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for MSU Moorhead.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,000 |
| 25th percentile | $7,839 |
| 75th percentile | $26,055 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,060 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at MSU Moorhead.
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 MSU Moorhead.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 392 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 147 | $10,000 |
| Did not complete | 245 | $10,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $118.91/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at MSU Moorhead.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 247 | $9,396 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 145 | $11,714 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at MSU Moorhead.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for MSU Moorhead appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1984 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,000 |
| Middle income | $15,420 |
| High income | $15,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $16,342 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for MSU Moorhead.
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.