by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Mount Vernon Nazarene University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at MVNU, 62% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, averaging $8,637 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $6,953. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at MVNU, 61% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,488 annually. This works out to 6.7% below the freshman federal average of $6,953.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,976 after two years and $25,952 across a four-year program. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 61% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,488 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 818 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,306,912 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at MVNU carry a median federal debt of $19,565 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,565 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,159 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 MVNU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,125 |
| 25th percentile | $6,977 |
| 75th percentile | $25,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at MVNU.
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 MVNU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 342 | $18,635 |
| Completed (graduates) | 198 | $24,155 |
| Did not complete | 144 | $13,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $287.23/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 MVNU.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 317 | $18,698 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 25 | $17,620 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for MVNU.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for MVNU follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 898 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,319 |
| Middle income | $20,832 |
| High income | $20,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,577 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $20,717 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at MVNU.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Important to Remember
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.