by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Roanoke College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at Roanoke, 93% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $7,415 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,821. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
For undergraduates overall at Roanoke, 81% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $6,877 a year. This works out to 18.1% above the $5,821 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,754 after two years and $27,508 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 81% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,877 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,465 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $10,074,118 |
The median student at Roanoke borrows $22,313 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $22,313 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Roanoke.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $28,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Roanoke.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Roanoke.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 285 | $26,581 |
| Completed (graduates) | 163 | $40,178 |
| Did not complete | 122 | $15,751 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $477.76/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Roanoke.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 275 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 10 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Roanoke.
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 Roanoke is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 471 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $23,250 |
| Middle income | $21,625 |
| High income | $22,250 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $21,967 |
| Continuing-generation students | $23,250 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $22,313 |
| Independent students | $22,076 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Roanoke.
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.
Did You Know?
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.