by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend East Carolina University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At ECU, 52% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $8,704 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,317, equal to roughly 96.7% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 ECU, freshmen included, 41% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,355 per year. That is 19.5% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,317.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,710 by year two and around $25,420 across a four-year program. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 41% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,355 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 8,150 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $51,793,199 |
The middle borrower at ECU owes $17,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,000 |
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 ECU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,000 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at ECU.
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 ECU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 3071 | $17,004 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1694 | $19,710 |
| Did not complete | 1377 | $15,666 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $234.37/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at ECU.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3017 | $17,004 |
| No Stafford loan | 54 | $14,468 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2599 | $17,399 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 472 | $15,103 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at ECU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for ECU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 5016 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,750 |
| Middle income | $17,750 |
| High income | $16,223 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,247 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,500 |
| Independent students | $18,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for ECU.
Subsidized vs. 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.
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.