by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Emory University-Oxford College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Oxford College, 17% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $15,589 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $4,994, amounting to 90.8% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Across the full undergraduate body at Oxford College (freshmen included), 13% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $5,318 in federal loans per year. It comes to 6.5% larger than the freshman federal average of $4,994.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $10,636 after two years and $21,272 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 | 13% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,318 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 123 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $654,115 |
The median student at Oxford College borrows $16,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,500 |
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 Oxford College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,898 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Oxford College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Oxford College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 835 | $30,292 |
| Completed (graduates) | 736 | $30,480 |
| Did not complete | 99 | $28,494 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $362.44/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Oxford College.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 821 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 14 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 692 | $31,130 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 143 | $25,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Oxford College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Oxford College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2249 |
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 | $15,984 |
| Middle income | $16,750 |
| High income | $17,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,013 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,158 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,042 |
| Independent students | $20,875 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Oxford College.
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?
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.