by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Georgia Southern 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.
Among first-year students at GaSou, 43% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $6,427 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,125, amounting to 93.2% 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 GaSou (freshmen included), 38% take out federal student loans, at an average of $5,968 each per year. It comes to 16.4% above the $5,125 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $11,936 over two years and about $23,872 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 38% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,968 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 7,952 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $47,459,268 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at GaSou carry a median federal debt of $15,250 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,982 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at GaSou.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,427 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,750 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at GaSou.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at GaSou.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 3439 | $13,532 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1794 | $16,000 |
| Did not complete | 1645 | $12,284 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $190.26/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at GaSou.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3363 | $13,560 |
| No Stafford loan | 76 | $12,667 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 3095 | $13,610 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 344 | $12,490 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at GaSou.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for GaSou is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4141 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,838 |
| Middle income | $15,250 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,032 |
| Independent students | $15,750 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at GaSou.
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?
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.