by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Meredith College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Meredith, 61% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $8,196 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,436, equal to roughly 98.8% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Counting every undergraduate at Meredith, 56% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $6,700 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 23.3% larger than the $5,436 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,400 over two years and about $26,800 over a four-year span. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 56% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,700 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 718 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,810,876 |
The median student at Meredith borrows $20,066 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $20,066 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
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 Meredith.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Meredith.
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 Meredith.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 340 | $39,072 |
| Completed (graduates) | 248 | $44,613 |
| Did not complete | 92 | $21,412 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $530.5/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Meredith.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 321 | $39,400 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 19 | $10,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Meredith.
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 Meredith appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 578 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,250 |
| Middle income | $20,500 |
| High income | $20,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $21,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,500 |
| Independent students | $16,587 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Meredith.
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.
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.