by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Pacific Lutheran University— 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.
For incoming students at PLU, 46% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $7,919 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,252, amounting to 95.5% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. 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 PLU, 45% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $11,353 each per year. That amounts to 116.2% more than the $5,252 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $22,706 in two years and roughly $45,412 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 | 45% |
| Average federal loan per year | $11,353 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,058 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $12,011,721 |
The median student at PLU borrows $17,074 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,074 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,578 |
| 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 PLU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $10,000 |
| 75th percentile | $29,876 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,314 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at PLU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at PLU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 449 | $21,556 |
| Completed (graduates) | 309 | $25,000 |
| Did not complete | 140 | $16,102 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $297.28/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at PLU.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 398 | $21,992 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 51 | $10,500 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at PLU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for PLU follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 929 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,500 |
| Middle income | $18,500 |
| High income | $16,750 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,625 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,868 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for PLU.
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.