by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Simmons University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Simmons, 61% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $8,812 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $5,255, equal to roughly 95.5% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. 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 Simmons, 64% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $6,702 per year. That amounts to 27.5% above the freshman federal average of $5,255.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,404 in two years and roughly $26,808 over four years. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 64% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,702 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,116 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $7,479,521 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Simmons carry a median federal debt of $21,780 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,780 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,840 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,317 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Simmons.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,750 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Simmons.
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 Simmons.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 964 | $21,526 |
| Completed (graduates) | 635 | $23,772 |
| Did not complete | 329 | $18,367 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $282.67/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Simmons.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 808 | $21,526 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 156 | $21,474 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Simmons.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Simmons appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1331 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,916 |
| Middle income | $23,136 |
| High income | $21,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $22,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $21,500 |
| Independent students | $21,969 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Simmons.
The Difference Between 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.
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.