by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Delaware, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At UD specifically, 55% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $11,809 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,271, representing 95.8% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. 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 UD, 52% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,318 annually. That amounts to 19.9% more than the freshman federal average of $5,271.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,636 by year two and around $25,272 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 52% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,318 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 9,786 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $61,828,175 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UD carry a median federal debt of $21,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,572 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
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) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $10,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,528 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at UD.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at UD.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1915 | $36,500 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1419 | $43,000 |
| Did not complete | 496 | $24,858 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $511.32/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.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1896 | $36,823 |
| No Stafford loan | 19 | $22,842 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1686 | $39,635 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 229 | $23,500 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UD.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for UD follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2700 |
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 | $19,231 |
| Middle income | $21,500 |
| High income | $21,256 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,621 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,326 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $21,126 |
| Independent students | $19,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UD.
Subsidized and 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.
Did You Know?
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.