by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Xavier University: 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 Xavier, 64% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $9,124 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,700. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Looking at all undergraduates at Xavier, freshmen included, 53% take out federal student loans, at an average of $6,876 each per year. That is 20.6% above the $5,700 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,752 in two years and roughly $27,504 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 | 53% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,876 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,500 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $17,189,851 |
The median student at Xavier borrows $18,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
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 Xavier.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,250 |
| 25th percentile | $9,255 |
| 75th percentile | $27,270 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Xavier.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Xavier.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1063 | $31,748 |
| Completed (graduates) | 624 | $37,885 |
| Did not complete | 439 | $25,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $450.49/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 Xavier.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1049 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 14 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 901 | $34,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 162 | $20,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Xavier.
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 Xavier follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1473 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,750 |
| Middle income | $18,750 |
| High income | $19,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Xavier.
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
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.