by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Valley Forge: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At UVF specifically, 83% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $11,967 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,440, representing 98.9% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical 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.
For undergraduates overall at UVF, 76% take out federal student loans, for a typical $4,852 annually. It comes to 10.8% below the first-year federal average of $5,440.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $9,704 after two years and $19,408 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 | 76% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,852 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 358 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,736,963 |
The median student at UVF borrows $20,166 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $20,166 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,801 |
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 UVF.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,296 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,125 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UVF.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at UVF.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 139 | $20,732 |
| Completed (graduates) | 78 | $25,868 |
| Did not complete | 61 | $18,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $307.6/mo.
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UVF.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for UVF is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 278 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,000 |
| Middle income | $19,250 |
| High income | $20,800 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $20,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,208 |
| Independent students | $20,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at UVF.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Important to Remember
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.