by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Lee University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Lee University specifically, 50% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, for an average of $8,103 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,496, which is 99.9% 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.
For undergraduates overall at Lee University, 50% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $7,002 a year. That amounts to 27.4% larger than the freshman federal average of $5,496.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $14,004 by year two and around $28,008 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 50% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,002 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,364 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $9,551,218 |
The middle borrower at Lee University owes $19,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,334 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Lee University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,200 |
| 25th percentile | $6,250 |
| 75th percentile | $30,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,712 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Lee University.
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 Lee University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 596 | $20,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 347 | $24,000 |
| Did not complete | 249 | $16,289 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $285.39/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Lee University.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 586 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 548 | $20,137 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 48 | $15,329 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Lee University.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Lee University is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1033 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,041 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $20,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,334 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,250 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,250 |
| Independent students | $16,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Lee University.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Did You Know?
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.