by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Virginia Union University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At VUU, 73% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $14,855 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $7,420. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Counting every undergraduate at VUU, 71% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $9,448 in federal loans per year. This works out to 27.3% more than the freshman federal average of $7,420.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $18,896 in two years and roughly $37,792 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 71% |
| Average federal loan per year | $9,448 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 873 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,247,883 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at VUU carry a median federal debt of $22,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $22,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $29,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $14,000 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for VUU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $6,250 |
| 75th percentile | $29,419 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at VUU.
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 VUU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 399 | $25,749 |
| Completed (graduates) | 204 | $31,153 |
| Did not complete | 195 | $21,568 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $370.44/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at VUU.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 389 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 376 | $26,300 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 23 | $18,600 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at VUU.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for VUU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 20.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 603 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $22,500 |
| Middle income | $22,650 |
| High income | $21,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $22,650 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,250 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $24,000 |
| Independent students | $15,250 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at VUU.
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?
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.