by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of the Virgin Islands: 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.
Looking at the entering class at UVI, 20% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $4,123 each, across private and federal loan sources.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,123, amounting to 75.0% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at UVI, 18% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $5,385 per year. That is 30.6% larger than the $4,123 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $10,770 in two years and roughly $21,540 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 | 18% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,385 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 258 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,389,227 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UVI carry a median federal debt of $9,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $16,800 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,000 |
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 UVI.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,374 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $16,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UVI.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at UVI.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 130 | $16,508 |
| Completed (graduates) | 41 | $17,608 |
| Did not complete | 89 | $14,597 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $209.38/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at UVI.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 70 | $12,606 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 60 | $21,622 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UVI.
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 UVI appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 283 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,326 |
| Middle income | $11,000 |
| High income | $9,767 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,634 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,000 |
| Independent students | $11,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at UVI.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Important to Remember
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.