by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Indiana University-East: 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.
Looking at the entering class at IU East, 29% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $5,115 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,662, or about 84.8% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at IU East, 38% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,757 each per year. That is 44.9% higher than the first-year federal average of $4,662.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,514 by year two and around $27,028 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 | 38% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,757 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 923 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,236,685 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at IU East carry a median federal debt of $12,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,989 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 IU East.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,310 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,295 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at IU East.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at IU East.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 500 | $13,498 |
| Completed (graduates) | 199 | $13,042 |
| Did not complete | 301 | $13,885 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $155.08/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 IU East.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 486 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 14 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 259 | $11,932 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 241 | $16,270 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at IU East.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for IU East appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 17.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 798 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,099 |
| Middle income | $11,881 |
| High income | $11,850 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,331 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,982 |
| Independent students | $13,242 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at IU East.
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.
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.