by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Rhode Island College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at RIC, 47% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $7,777 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,974, amounting to 90.4% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at RIC, 49% take out federal student loans, averaging $6,264 a year. This works out to 25.9% higher than the freshman federal average of $4,974.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,528 across two years and $25,056 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 49% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,264 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,251 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $14,099,825 |
The median student at RIC borrows $13,833 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $13,833 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,879 |
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 RIC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at RIC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at RIC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 703 | $13,410 |
| Completed (graduates) | 368 | $14,512 |
| Did not complete | 335 | $12,037 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $172.56/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at RIC.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 536 | $11,268 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 167 | $21,800 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. RIC.
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 RIC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1863 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $12,500 |
| Middle income | $15,000 |
| High income | $14,999 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,700 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,000 |
| Independent students | $17,833 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at RIC.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
Worth Knowing
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.