by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Nicholls State University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Nicholls State University, 41% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $5,847 each, across private and federal loan sources.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,153, or about 93.7% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 Nicholls State University, 45% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $6,566 annually. That is 27.4% higher than the $5,153 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $13,132 across two years and $26,264 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 | 45% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,566 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,147 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $14,098,007 |
The middle borrower at Nicholls State University owes $13,156 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $13,156 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,675 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Nicholls State University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $23,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,142 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Nicholls State University.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Nicholls State University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 562 | $10,290 |
| Completed (graduates) | 245 | $11,428 |
| Did not complete | 317 | $9,654 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $135.89/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Nicholls State University.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 510 | $10,205 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 52 | $10,973 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Nicholls State University.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Nicholls State University appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1399 |
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 | $13,750 |
| Middle income | $12,233 |
| High income | $13,319 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,256 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,686 |
| Independent students | $15,751 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Nicholls State University.
The Difference Between 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.
Worth Knowing
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.