by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Auburn 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.
For incoming students at Auburn, 29% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $9,702 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,240, amounting to 95.3% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at Auburn, freshmen included, 27% take out federal student loans, at an average of $6,247 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 19.2% more than the freshman federal average of $5,240.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,494 by year two and around $24,988 over a four-year span. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 27% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,247 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 7,026 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $43,893,862 |
The middle borrower at Auburn owes $17,750 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Auburn.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,474 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Auburn.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Auburn.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2116 | $38,339 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1410 | $43,605 |
| Did not complete | 706 | $28,563 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $518.51/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Auburn.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2050 | $38,417 |
| No Stafford loan | 66 | $32,272 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1888 | $40,168 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 228 | $24,039 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Auburn.
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 Auburn follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3475 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,750 |
| Middle income | $18,250 |
| High income | $16,750 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,095 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,562 |
| Independent students | $18,489 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Auburn.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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?
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.