by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Trine University, 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 Trine, 69% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $9,483 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,363, representing 97.5% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at Trine, 69% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $6,280 a year. That is 17.1% larger than the freshman federal average of $5,363.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,560 across two years and $25,120 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 69% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,280 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,612 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $10,123,301 |
The median student at Trine borrows $18,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Trine.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,524 |
| 25th percentile | $6,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Trine.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Trine.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 411 | $25,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 271 | $32,897 |
| Did not complete | 140 | $14,980 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $391.18/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Trine.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 390 | $25,071 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 21 | $15,201 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Trine.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Trine follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 618 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,250 |
| Middle income | $18,622 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $12,175 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Trine.
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?
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.