by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Citadel Military College of South Carolina— 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.
For incoming students at The Citadel, 46% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $12,150 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,257, representing 95.6% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Looking at all undergraduates at The Citadel, freshmen included, 37% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,379 each per year. This works out to 21.3% larger than the $5,257 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,758 by year two and around $25,516 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 | 37% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,379 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 971 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,194,222 |
The median student at The Citadel borrows $18,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,096 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,886 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for The Citadel.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,000 |
| 25th percentile | $8,094 |
| 75th percentile | $26,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,100 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at The Citadel.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for The Citadel.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 640 | $32,149 |
| Completed (graduates) | 367 | $33,899 |
| Did not complete | 273 | $26,871 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $403.1/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at The Citadel.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 623 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 17 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 540 | $35,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 100 | $20,503 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. The Citadel.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for The Citadel appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 686 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,038 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $17,146 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,768 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,494 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,460 |
| Independent students | $16,105 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for The Citadel.
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.
Did You Know?
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.