by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at CU Anschutz, 32% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $7,916 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,187, which is 94.3% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at CU Anschutz, 32% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $7,568 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 45.9% higher than the $5,187 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $15,136 in two years and roughly $30,272 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 | 32% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,568 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,386 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $25,624,496 |
The median student at CU Anschutz borrows $14,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,667 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for CU Anschutz.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,250 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,445 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at CU Anschutz.
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 CU Anschutz.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2681 | $19,883 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1555 | $21,716 |
| Did not complete | 1126 | $17,435 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $258.23/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at CU Anschutz.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2619 | $19,818 |
| No Stafford loan | 62 | $22,273 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2052 | $20,244 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 629 | $18,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at CU Anschutz.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for CU Anschutz follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4120 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,916 |
| Middle income | $14,000 |
| High income | $13,971 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,892 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,500 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for CU Anschutz.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
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.