by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Dallas: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at UD, 48% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $7,437 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,030, which is 91.5% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at UD, 44% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $6,160 each per year. It comes to 22.5% higher than the $5,030 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,320 across two years and $24,640 over a four-year span. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 44% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,160 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 624 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,843,794 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UD carry a median federal debt of $18,478 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,478 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,117 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,026 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for UD.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,254 |
| 25th percentile | $8,750 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UD.
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 UD.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 247 | $20,972 |
| Completed (graduates) | 156 | $24,154 |
| Did not complete | 91 | $16,286 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $287.22/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 UD.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 210 | $20,691 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 37 | $21,140 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UD.
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 UD follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 588 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,250 |
| Middle income | $13,750 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,407 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,478 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,500 |
| Independent students | $13,362 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at UD.
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.
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.