by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Florida A&M University specifically, 53% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $6,393 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,628. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at Florida A&M University, 52% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $6,766 per year. This works out to 20.2% above the freshman federal average of $5,628.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,532 across two years and $27,064 after four. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 52% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,766 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,893 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $26,339,560 |
The median student at Florida A&M University borrows $17,855 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,855 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,548 |
| Students who withdrew | $11,000 |
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 Florida A&M University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,250 |
| 25th percentile | $9,500 |
| 75th percentile | $33,201 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $43,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Florida A&M University.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at Florida A&M University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1758 | $15,125 |
| Completed (graduates) | 980 | $16,223 |
| Did not complete | 778 | $13,847 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $192.91/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Florida A&M University.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1723 | $15,005 |
| No Stafford loan | 35 | $17,580 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1666 | $15,125 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 92 | $14,934 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Florida A&M University.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Florida A&M University follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3097 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,500 |
| Middle income | $17,500 |
| High income | $17,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,500 |
| Independent students | $19,991 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Florida A&M University.
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.
Did You Know?
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.