by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Ohio Dominican University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at ODU, 69% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $7,018 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $5,184, equal to roughly 94.3% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Looking at all undergraduates at ODU, freshmen included, 64% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $6,143 in federal loans per year. That is 18.5% higher than the $5,184 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,286 in two years and roughly $24,572 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 64% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,143 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 506 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,108,535 |
The median student at ODU borrows $16,557 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,557 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for ODU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,247 |
| 25th percentile | $6,752 |
| 75th percentile | $30,725 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $41,377 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at ODU.
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 ODU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 305 | $21,196 |
| Completed (graduates) | 130 | $30,259 |
| Did not complete | 175 | $16,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $359.81/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at ODU.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 257 | $20,931 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 48 | $23,738 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. ODU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for ODU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1188 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $12,250 |
| Middle income | $17,834 |
| High income | $19,371 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,149 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $23,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for ODU.
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
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.