by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Indiana 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 Indiana State, 53% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $6,016 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $4,843, which is 88.1% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Indiana State, 26% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $11,843 a year. This works out to 144.5% larger than the $4,843 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $23,686 in two years and roughly $47,372 over a four-year span. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 26% |
| Average federal loan per year | $11,843 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,733 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $20,523,572 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Indiana State carry a median federal debt of $14,574 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,574 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,763 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Indiana State.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,814 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,604 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Indiana State.
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 Indiana State.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1853 | $14,009 |
| Completed (graduates) | 966 | $17,049 |
| Did not complete | 887 | $11,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $202.73/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Indiana State.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1822 | $14,228 |
| No Stafford loan | 31 | $7,000 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1657 | $14,332 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 196 | $12,080 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Indiana State.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Indiana State follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2426 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,000 |
| Middle income | $14,250 |
| High income | $16,066 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,300 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,000 |
| Independent students | $15,961 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Indiana State.
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.