by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Minot State University: 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.
At MSU, 49% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $6,003 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,934, representing 89.7% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at MSU, 44% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $6,284 per year. This works out to 27.4% greater than the $4,934 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,568 across two years and $25,136 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 | 44% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,284 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 902 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,668,082 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at MSU carry a median federal debt of $11,980 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,980 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $19,609 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,300 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for MSU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,400 |
| 75th percentile | $21,200 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at MSU.
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.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 103 | $12,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 49 | $14,550 |
| Did not complete | 54 | $10,943 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $173.01/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 MSU.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 76 | $13,424 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 27 | $10,384 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at MSU.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for MSU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 914 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,500 |
| Middle income | $12,000 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,492 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,500 |
| Independent students | $12,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at MSU.
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
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.