by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Carson-Newman University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Carson - Newman, 60% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, averaging $5,788 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,007, representing 91.0% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at Carson - Newman (freshmen included), 55% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $6,295 per year. It comes to 25.7% above the first-year federal average of $5,007.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,590 over two years and about $25,180 over a four-year span. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 55% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,295 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 760 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,784,198 |
The middle borrower at Carson - Newman owes $14,519 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,519 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Carson - Newman.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,190 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Carson - Newman.
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 Carson - Newman.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 351 | $14,386 |
| Completed (graduates) | 219 | $17,541 |
| Did not complete | 132 | $11,886 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $208.58/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 Carson - Newman.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 317 | $15,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 34 | $9,812 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Carson - Newman.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Carson - Newman is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 657 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $13,250 |
| Middle income | $15,316 |
| High income | $15,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $13,191 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Carson - Newman.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Important to Remember
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.