by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Rasmussen University-Illinois: 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.
Looking at the entering class at Rasmussen University - Illinois, 84% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $9,368 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $8,850. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Rasmussen University - Illinois, 78% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $9,001 per year. This works out to 1.7% greater than the $8,850 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $18,002 over two years and about $36,004 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 78% |
| Average federal loan per year | $9,001 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,041 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $9,369,728 |
The median student at Rasmussen University - Illinois borrows $13,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $13,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,899 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,334 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Rasmussen University - Illinois.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,900 |
| 25th percentile | $3,668 |
| 75th percentile | $19,987 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,799 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Rasmussen University - Illinois.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Rasmussen University - Illinois.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2419 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1216 | $10,562 |
| Did not complete | 1203 | $9,727 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $125.59/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 Rasmussen University - Illinois.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2402 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 17 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2077 | $10,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 342 | $10,260 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Rasmussen University - Illinois.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Rasmussen University - Illinois follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 14.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 13184 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,500 |
| Middle income | $14,203 |
| High income | $13,586 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,834 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,845 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,834 |
| Independent students | $14,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Rasmussen University - Illinois.
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.