by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Phoenix-Arizona: 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.
Among first-year students at UOPX - Arizona, 88% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $6,458 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $6,458. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at UOPX - Arizona, 65% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $8,263 each per year. That amounts to 27.9% above the first-year federal average of $6,458.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $16,526 by year two and around $33,052 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 65% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,263 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 50,399 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $416,437,038 |
The middle borrower at UOPX - Arizona owes $16,690 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,690 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $31,553 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,178 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 UOPX - Arizona.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,442 |
| 25th percentile | $5,227 |
| 75th percentile | $31,067 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $45,688 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at UOPX - Arizona.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for UOPX - Arizona.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 12024 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 4246 | $9,327 |
| Did not complete | 7778 | $10,591 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $110.91/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at UOPX - Arizona.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 11889 | $10,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 135 | $8,640 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 7472 | $8,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 4552 | $15,534 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UOPX - Arizona.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for UOPX - Arizona is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 14.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 239729 |
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 | $15,000 |
| Middle income | $19,953 |
| High income | $18,466 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,970 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,141 |
| Independent students | $17,105 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at UOPX - Arizona.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
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.