by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Minnesota State College Southeast— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at MSC Southeast, 34% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, at roughly $7,179 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $6,545. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at MSC Southeast, 37% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $7,433 annually. This is 13.6% above the $6,545 freshmen take on.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,866 over two years and about $29,732 across a four-year program. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 37% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,433 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 448 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,329,991 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at MSC Southeast carry a median federal debt of $9,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,971 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,425 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for MSC Southeast.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $4,750 |
| 75th percentile | $17,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,080 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at MSC Southeast.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at MSC Southeast.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 78 | $13,881 |
| Completed (graduates) | 27 | $15,300 |
| Did not complete | 51 | $12,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $181.93/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 MSC Southeast.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 37 | $12,836 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 41 | $17,037 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for MSC Southeast.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for MSC Southeast is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1088 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,500 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,750 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,250 |
| Independent students | $11,400 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for MSC Southeast.
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?
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.