by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Monroe 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 Monroe College, 38% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $5,489 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federally funded loan is $5,458, or about 99.2% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at Monroe College, freshmen included, 50% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $6,904 annually. That amounts to 26.5% higher than the first-year federal average of $5,458.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,808 in two years and roughly $27,616 by the fourth year. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 50% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,904 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,836 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $19,579,145 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Monroe College carry a median federal debt of $12,672 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,672 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,818 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,475 |
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 Monroe College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,743 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,679 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,130 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Monroe College.
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 Monroe College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 990 | $10,518 |
| Completed (graduates) | 515 | $11,646 |
| Did not complete | 475 | $9,500 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $138.48/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Monroe College.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 977 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 13 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 888 | $10,654 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 102 | $8,783 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Monroe College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Monroe College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3404 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,165 |
| Middle income | $13,190 |
| High income | $14,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,650 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,926 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,919 |
| Independent students | $14,257 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Monroe College.
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.