by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of North Carolina at Pembroke: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at UNC Pembroke, 53% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $5,369 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,364, amounting to 97.5% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at UNC Pembroke, 43% rely on federal student loans toward their education, for a typical $6,311 each per year. It comes to 17.7% larger than the $5,364 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,622 across two years and $25,244 by the fourth year. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 43% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,311 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,330 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $14,705,153 |
The middle borrower at UNC Pembroke owes $15,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for UNC Pembroke.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $23,850 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,269 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at UNC Pembroke.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for UNC Pembroke.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1078 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 507 | $10,984 |
| Did not complete | 571 | $9,414 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $130.61/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at UNC Pembroke.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 887 | $9,842 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 191 | $12,250 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UNC Pembroke.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for UNC Pembroke is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1813 |
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 | $17,150 |
| Middle income | $15,000 |
| High income | $14,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,743 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,606 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,500 |
| Independent students | $15,517 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for UNC Pembroke.
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.
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.