by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Saint Norbert College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at SNC, 56% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $9,475 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,196, amounting to 94.5% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Looking at all undergraduates at SNC, freshmen included, 52% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $6,358 per year. It comes to 22.4% more than the freshman federal average of $5,196.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,716 in two years and roughly $25,432 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 52% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,358 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 909 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,779,087 |
The middle borrower at SNC owes $21,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,731 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 SNC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $10,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SNC.
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 SNC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 214 | $27,399 |
| Completed (graduates) | 142 | $37,792 |
| Did not complete | 72 | $17,136 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $449.39/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at SNC.
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 SNC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 505 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $22,355 |
| Middle income | $25,000 |
| High income | $20,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $22,158 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,167 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for SNC.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.