by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Fort Hays State University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at FHSU, 43% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $5,862 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,143, equal to roughly 93.5% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at FHSU, 25% take out federal student loans, for a typical $7,317 a year. This works out to 42.3% above the $5,143 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $14,634 across two years and $29,268 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 25% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,317 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,478 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $18,131,968 |
The median student at FHSU borrows $14,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for FHSU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,081 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,720 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at FHSU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at FHSU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1480 | $11,255 |
| Completed (graduates) | 699 | $11,833 |
| Did not complete | 781 | $10,812 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $140.71/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 FHSU.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1464 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 16 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1101 | $10,805 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 379 | $12,388 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. FHSU.
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 FHSU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1962 |
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 | $14,250 |
| Middle income | $14,250 |
| High income | $14,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,949 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,147 |
| Independent students | $15,750 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for FHSU.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
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.