by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Rivier University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Rivier specifically, 75% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $9,744 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,221, amounting to 94.9% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Counting every undergraduate at Rivier, 71% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $6,805 each per year. It comes to 30.3% higher than the $5,221 freshmen take on.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,610 by year two and around $27,220 over a four-year span. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 71% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,805 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 931 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,335,289 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Rivier carry a median federal debt of $21,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,956 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Rivier.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $7,989 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Rivier.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Rivier.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 353 | $22,949 |
| Completed (graduates) | 218 | $23,985 |
| Did not complete | 135 | $20,772 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $285.21/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Rivier.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 309 | $23,625 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 44 | $16,707 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Rivier.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Rivier follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 528 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,925 |
| Middle income | $20,917 |
| High income | $21,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,834 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $23,000 |
| Independent students | $18,172 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Rivier.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Important to Remember
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.