by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend The University of Tennessee Southern— 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 Martin Methodist specifically, 24% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $4,557 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,557, amounting to 82.9% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Counting every undergraduate at Martin Methodist, 31% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $5,367 a year. This works out to 17.8% greater than the $4,557 freshmen take on.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $10,734 by year two and around $21,468 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 31% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,367 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 254 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,363,206 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Martin Methodist carry a median federal debt of $11,175 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,175 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Martin Methodist.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,775 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,245 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Martin Methodist.
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 Martin Methodist.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 104 | $10,394 |
| Completed (graduates) | 40 | $15,767 |
| Did not complete | 64 | $9,750 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $187.49/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Martin Methodist.
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 Martin Methodist is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 18.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 361 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $12,125 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,597 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Martin Methodist.
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.
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.