by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Monmouth 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 Monmouth, 78% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $7,067 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,739. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Monmouth, 76% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $6,650 per year. That is 15.9% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,739.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,300 over two years and about $26,600 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 | 76% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,650 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 548 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,644,080 |
The middle borrower at Monmouth owes $20,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $20,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,723 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Monmouth.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,250 |
| 25th percentile | $8,750 |
| 75th percentile | $28,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Monmouth.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Monmouth.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 217 | $17,036 |
| Completed (graduates) | 133 | $27,185 |
| Did not complete | 84 | $10,365 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $323.26/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Monmouth.
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 Monmouth appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 425 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $20,500 |
| Middle income | $17,272 |
| High income | $21,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,907 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,000 |
| Independent students | $24,371 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Monmouth.
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.
Important to Remember
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.