by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Kennesaw State University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at KSU Georgia, 38% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $6,091 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,076, which is 92.3% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at KSU Georgia, 34% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $5,924 in federal loans per year. It comes to 16.7% larger than the $5,076 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,848 by year two and around $23,696 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 34% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,924 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 13,286 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $78,701,876 |
The median student at KSU Georgia borrows $14,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,833 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
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 KSU Georgia.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,000 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,088 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,312 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at KSU Georgia.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for KSU Georgia.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 3431 | $16,612 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1515 | $19,000 |
| Did not complete | 1916 | $15,533 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $225.93/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at KSU Georgia.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3332 | $16,606 |
| No Stafford loan | 99 | $16,622 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2853 | $16,730 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 578 | $16,148 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at KSU Georgia.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for KSU Georgia is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4746 |
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 | $15,750 |
| Middle income | $14,009 |
| High income | $13,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,795 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,000 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at KSU Georgia.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Worth Knowing
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.