by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Governors 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.
At GSU specifically, 36% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $5,566 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,153, amounting to 93.7% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 GSU, freshmen included, 39% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $7,042 per year. That amounts to 36.7% larger than the freshman federal average of $5,153.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,084 across two years and $28,168 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 39% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,042 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 973 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,851,984 |
The median student at GSU borrows $14,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,618 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,266 |
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 GSU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,250 |
| 75th percentile | $24,300 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,554 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at GSU.
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 GSU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 601 | $12,546 |
| Completed (graduates) | 263 | $13,991 |
| Did not complete | 338 | $11,957 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $166.37/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 GSU.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 441 | $12,165 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 160 | $13,438 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. GSU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for GSU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1378 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $15,702 |
| Middle income | $13,000 |
| High income | $13,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,750 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,250 |
| Independent students | $18,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at GSU.
The Difference Between 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
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.