by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Rowan University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at Rowan, 52% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $9,347 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,368, representing 97.6% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the 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 Rowan, 44% take out federal student loans, for a typical $6,645 annually. This is 23.8% greater than the freshman federal average of $5,368.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $13,290 in two years and roughly $26,580 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 | 44% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,645 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,447 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $42,842,389 |
The middle borrower at Rowan owes $16,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,000 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Rowan.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Rowan.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at Rowan.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2587 | $24,283 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1367 | $27,445 |
| Did not complete | 1220 | $21,324 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $326.35/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Rowan.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2529 | $24,347 |
| No Stafford loan | 58 | $20,844 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2264 | $24,742 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 323 | $20,463 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Rowan.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Rowan is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3821 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,683 |
| Middle income | $17,151 |
| High income | $15,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,514 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,000 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Rowan.
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.
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.