by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Point Loma Nazarene University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At PLNU, 54% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $8,020 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,336, which is 97.0% 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at PLNU (freshmen included), 50% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $7,340 annually. It comes to 37.6% more than the $5,336 borrowed by freshmen.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $14,680 by year two and around $29,360 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 50% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,340 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,575 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $11,560,707 |
The median student at PLNU borrows $19,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,990 |
| Students who withdrew | $15,000 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at PLNU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,700 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at PLNU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at PLNU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 647 | $30,500 |
| Completed (graduates) | 337 | $38,376 |
| Did not complete | 310 | $24,700 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $456.33/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 PLNU.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 637 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 585 | $33,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 62 | $13,124 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at PLNU.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for PLNU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1036 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,548 |
| Middle income | $19,250 |
| High income | $19,688 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $20,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at PLNU.
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.