by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Ottawa University-Ottawa— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Ottawa, 90% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $8,945 each, across private and federal loan sources.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,333, representing 97.0% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at Ottawa, 76% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $6,357 a year. This is 19.2% larger than the freshman federal average of $5,333.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,714 after two years and $25,428 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 76% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,357 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 707 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,494,687 |
The middle borrower at Ottawa owes $12,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
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 Ottawa.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,197 |
| 25th percentile | $6,383 |
| 75th percentile | $23,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,375 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Ottawa.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Ottawa.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 754 | $20,463 |
| Completed (graduates) | 171 | $20,600 |
| Did not complete | 583 | $20,428 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $244.96/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Ottawa.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 737 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 17 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 689 | $21,500 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 65 | $11,323 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Ottawa.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Ottawa appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1509 |
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 | $12,975 |
| Middle income | $13,726 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $10,000 |
| Independent students | $17,123 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Ottawa.
The Difference Between 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?
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.