by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Virginia Military Institute, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At VMI specifically, 44% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $13,371 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $7,939. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at VMI, 59% take out federal student loans, with a mean of $6,331 per year. This works out to 20.3% less than the freshman federal average of $7,939.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,662 after two years and $25,324 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 59% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,331 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 928 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,874,833 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at VMI carry a median federal debt of $19,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,996 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 VMI.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at VMI.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at VMI.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 170 | $32,150 |
| Completed (graduates) | 115 | $36,278 |
| Did not complete | 55 | $21,350 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $431.38/mo.
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for VMI.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for VMI appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 197 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,238 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $18,270 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at VMI.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Worth Knowing
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.