by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend East Central University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At ECU specifically, 33% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $6,384 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,754. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at ECU, 38% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $7,463 annually. This is 29.7% greater than the $5,754 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $14,926 over two years and about $29,852 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 38% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,463 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 824 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,149,826 |
The median student at ECU borrows $11,250 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $17,671 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,124 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for ECU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $4,969 |
| 75th percentile | $20,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,750 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at ECU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at ECU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 184 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 76 | $9,573 |
| Did not complete | 108 | $10,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $113.83/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at ECU.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 123 | $9,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 61 | $11,506 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for ECU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for ECU is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1092 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $11,250 |
| Middle income | $11,126 |
| High income | $11,250 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,024 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,800 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $10,131 |
| Independent students | $15,024 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at ECU.
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.
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.