by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend North Park University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at North Park, 40% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, at roughly $6,273 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $5,133, which is 93.3% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at North Park, 51% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $6,735 annually. That is 31.2% more than the first-year federal average of $5,133.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,470 across two years and $26,940 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 | 51% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,735 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 936 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,304,047 |
The middle borrower at North Park owes $19,875 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,875 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for North Park.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,946 |
| 25th percentile | $8,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,084 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at North Park.
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 North Park.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 115 | $19,075 |
| Completed (graduates) | 54 | $24,179 |
| Did not complete | 61 | $15,500 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $287.51/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at North Park.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 97 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 18 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. North Park.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for North Park is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 808 |
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 | $20,832 |
| Middle income | $19,875 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $24,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,875 |
| Independent students | $24,248 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for North Park.
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.