by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Marshall University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Marshall University, 44% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $6,424 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,078, amounting to 92.3% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Looking at all undergraduates at Marshall University, freshmen included, 46% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $7,898 each per year. It comes to 55.5% more than the first-year federal average of $5,078.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $15,796 across two years and $31,592 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 | 46% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,898 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,255 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $25,709,155 |
The middle borrower at Marshall University owes $16,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,760 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Marshall University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,584 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,270 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Marshall University.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Marshall University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1196 | $12,136 |
| Completed (graduates) | 662 | $13,944 |
| Did not complete | 534 | $10,777 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $165.81/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 Marshall University.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1174 | $12,257 |
| No Stafford loan | 22 | $10,533 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1053 | $12,366 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 143 | $10,914 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Marshall University.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Marshall University appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2902 |
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 | $15,793 |
| Middle income | $17,405 |
| High income | $17,001 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,635 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,064 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,282 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Marshall University.
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.