by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Nebraska-Lincoln— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at UNL, 40% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $7,225 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,981, amounting to 90.6% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Counting every undergraduate at UNL, 33% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $5,783 a year. That is 16.1% larger than the $4,981 freshmen take on.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $11,566 across two years and $23,132 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 33% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,783 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,295 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $36,401,615 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UNL carry a median federal debt of $14,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for UNL.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,392 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UNL.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for UNL.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 3199 | $20,271 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1916 | $25,798 |
| Did not complete | 1283 | $16,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $306.77/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at UNL.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3121 | $20,493 |
| No Stafford loan | 78 | $18,507 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2847 | $20,914 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 352 | $14,954 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UNL.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for UNL appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4022 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,500 |
| Middle income | $13,318 |
| High income | $15,970 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,194 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,500 |
| Independent students | $17,607 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UNL.
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.