by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Muskingum University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Muskingum, 98% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $8,234 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $5,961. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at Muskingum, 88% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $7,083 per year. This works out to 18.8% higher than the freshman federal average of $5,961.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,166 after two years and $28,332 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 88% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,083 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,234 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,740,045 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Muskingum carry a median federal debt of $16,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,369 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
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 Muskingum.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,300 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Muskingum.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Muskingum.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 371 | $18,187 |
| Completed (graduates) | 141 | $21,502 |
| Did not complete | 230 | $16,777 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $255.68/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 Muskingum.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 327 | $18,616 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 44 | $16,433 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Muskingum.
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 Muskingum appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 649 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $15,750 |
| Middle income | $16,500 |
| High income | $17,115 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,500 |
| Independent students | $12,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Muskingum.
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
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.