by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Northern Michigan 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 Northern Michigan University, 52% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $8,022 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $4,933, or about 89.7% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year 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 Northern Michigan University, 47% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $6,141 in federal loans per year. It comes to 24.5% greater than the $4,933 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,282 across two years and $24,564 after four. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 47% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,141 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,997 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $18,404,330 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Northern Michigan University carry a median federal debt of $13,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $13,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,474 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,327 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Northern Michigan University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,250 |
| 25th percentile | $6,000 |
| 75th percentile | $25,880 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Northern Michigan University.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Northern Michigan University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 843 | $15,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 452 | $17,287 |
| Did not complete | 391 | $13,935 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $205.56/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 Northern Michigan University.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 826 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 17 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 772 | $15,343 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 71 | $11,161 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Northern Michigan University.
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 Northern Michigan University follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2434 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $13,479 |
| Middle income | $14,000 |
| High income | $13,670 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,784 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,479 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,198 |
| Independent students | $15,750 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Northern Michigan University.
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.
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.