by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Spring Arbor 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.
Among first-year students at Spring Arbor, 60% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $6,700 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,114, which is 93.0% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at Spring Arbor, 61% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $6,963 each per year. This works out to 36.2% more than the first-year federal average of $5,114.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,926 by year two and around $27,852 after four. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 61% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,963 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 604 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,205,882 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Spring Arbor carry a median federal debt of $24,724 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $24,724 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,375 |
| Students who withdrew | $19,379 |
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 Spring Arbor.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $11,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,518 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,484 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Spring Arbor.
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 Spring Arbor.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 426 | $14,579 |
| Completed (graduates) | 209 | $18,988 |
| Did not complete | 217 | $12,458 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $225.79/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Spring Arbor.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 361 | $15,400 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 65 | $11,872 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Spring Arbor.
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 Spring Arbor follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1452 |
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 | $25,690 |
| Middle income | $25,000 |
| High income | $22,392 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $25,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $22,537 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $22,301 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Spring Arbor.
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.
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.