by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Naropa 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 Naropa, 50% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $9,631 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $9,631. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. 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 Naropa, 54% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $10,598 a year. That is 10.0% higher than the $9,631 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $21,196 across two years and $42,392 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 54% |
| Average federal loan per year | $10,598 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 200 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,119,517 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Naropa carry a median federal debt of $14,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,712 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Naropa.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,292 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,750 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Naropa.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Naropa.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 145 | $21,295 |
| Completed (graduates) | 86 | $19,585 |
| Did not complete | 59 | $21,511 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $232.89/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Naropa.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Naropa is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 315 |
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 | $19,250 |
| Middle income | $13,306 |
| High income | $10,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,250 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $23,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Naropa.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
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.