by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Charleston Southern University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At CSU specifically, 58% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $7,484 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $5,113, which is 93.0% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. 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 CSU, 52% take out federal student loans, for a typical $6,422 each per year. This is 25.6% above the $5,113 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,844 in two years and roughly $25,688 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 52% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,422 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,412 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $9,067,844 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at CSU carry a median federal debt of $18,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,471 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,526 |
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 CSU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,750 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,768 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $39,625 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at CSU.
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 CSU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 517 | $16,403 |
| Completed (graduates) | 261 | $18,387 |
| Did not complete | 256 | $14,884 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $218.64/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 CSU.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 438 | $18,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 79 | $11,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. CSU.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for CSU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1071 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $16,601 |
| Middle income | $18,848 |
| High income | $18,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,750 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,477 |
| Independent students | $19,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for CSU.
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
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.