by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Emory University— 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 Emory, 11% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $10,331 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $5,098, amounting to 92.7% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Across the full undergraduate body at Emory (freshmen included), 11% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $6,419 per year. It comes to 25.9% greater than the $5,098 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,838 over two years and about $25,676 over four years. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 11% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,419 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 781 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,013,194 |
The middle borrower at Emory owes $16,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Emory.
| 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 spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Emory.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Emory.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 835 | $30,292 |
| Completed (graduates) | 736 | $30,480 |
| Did not complete | 99 | $28,494 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $362.44/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Emory.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 821 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 14 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 692 | $31,130 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 143 | $25,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Emory.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Emory is shown 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.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| 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 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Emory.
Subsidized and 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.
Worth Knowing
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.