by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Fairmont State University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Fairmont State, 45% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $8,881 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $6,372. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. 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 Fairmont State, freshmen included, 44% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, for a typical $7,108 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 11.6% greater than the $6,372 freshmen take on.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,216 over two years and about $28,432 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 44% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,108 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,202 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,543,261 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Fairmont State carry a median federal debt of $12,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
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 Fairmont State.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,345 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,495 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Fairmont State.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Fairmont State.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 485 | $10,946 |
| Completed (graduates) | 215 | $12,589 |
| Did not complete | 270 | $9,917 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $149.7/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at Fairmont State.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 444 | $10,923 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 41 | $11,122 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Fairmont State.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Fairmont State follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1657 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,881 |
| Middle income | $12,792 |
| High income | $11,997 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $16,182 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Fairmont State.
The Difference Between 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.