by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Harding 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.
Looking at the entering class at Harding, 48% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $7,793 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $5,357, or about 97.4% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at Harding, 45% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $10,056 a year. That is 87.7% higher than the freshman federal average of $5,357.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $20,112 by year two and around $40,224 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 45% |
| Average federal loan per year | $10,056 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,475 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $14,833,065 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Harding carry a median federal debt of $21,601 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,601 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,644 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Harding.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,020 |
| 75th percentile | $29,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Harding.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Harding.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 704 | $25,026 |
| Completed (graduates) | 507 | $27,785 |
| Did not complete | 197 | $18,553 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $330.39/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Harding.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 690 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 14 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 667 | $25,841 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 37 | $14,245 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Harding.
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 Harding follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1201 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $22,214 |
| Middle income | $23,125 |
| High income | $21,480 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $22,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $21,931 |
| Independent students | $20,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Harding.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Important to Remember
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.