by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Fisk 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 Fisk specifically, 66% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $11,319 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $7,117. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Across the full undergraduate body at Fisk (freshmen included), 53% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $7,439 per year. That is 4.5% above the $7,117 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $14,878 across two years and $29,756 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 | 53% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,439 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 502 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,734,229 |
The median student at Fisk borrows $14,250 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,000 |
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 Fisk.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $10,500 |
| 75th percentile | $32,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Fisk.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Fisk.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 141 | $31,193 |
| Completed (graduates) | 29 | $42,991 |
| Did not complete | 112 | $28,349 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $511.21/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Fisk.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Fisk is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 250 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,000 |
| Middle income | $14,005 |
| High income | $23,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,880 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,250 |
| Independent students | $14,250 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Fisk.
Subsidized and 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
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.