by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Augustana College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at Augustana, 54% of first-year students take on loan debt, at roughly $7,591 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,140, or about 93.5% 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.
Counting every undergraduate at Augustana, 56% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $6,726 each per year. That is 30.9% above the $5,140 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,452 over two years and about $26,904 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 56% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,726 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,352 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $9,093,823 |
The median student at Augustana borrows $26,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $26,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,625 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Augustana.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,610 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Augustana.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Augustana.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 355 | $30,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 278 | $37,219 |
| Did not complete | 77 | $18,565 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $442.57/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Augustana.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 344 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 11 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Augustana.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Augustana follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 550 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $25,000 |
| Middle income | $25,280 |
| High income | $26,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $26,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $26,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Augustana.
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.
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.