by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Arkansas State University-Mountain Home— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At ASUMH, 26% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $4,745 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $4,745, representing 86.3% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at ASUMH, 35% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $6,137 in federal loans per year. This is 29.3% larger than the $4,745 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,274 after two years and $24,548 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 35% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,137 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 328 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,012,989 |
The middle borrower at ASUMH owes $8,685 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,685 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,425 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for ASUMH.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,035 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $10,028 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at ASUMH.
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 ASUMH.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 31 | $9,831 |
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at ASUMH.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 10 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 21 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for ASUMH.
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 | $10,623 |
| Middle income | $6,681 |
| High income | $4,875 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,779 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,500 |
| Independent students | $11,381 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at ASUMH.
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.
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.