by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Nova Southeastern University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At NUS Florida, 47% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $9,077 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,296, representing 96.3% 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at NUS Florida (freshmen included), 45% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $7,090 per year. This works out to 33.9% higher than the freshman federal average of $5,296.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $14,180 after two years and $28,360 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 45% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,090 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,250 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $23,042,430 |
The middle borrower at NUS Florida owes $16,985 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,985 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,000 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at NUS Florida.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,750 |
| 25th percentile | $8,250 |
| 75th percentile | $31,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $42,814 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at NUS Florida.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for NUS Florida.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1935 | $19,500 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1254 | $21,738 |
| Did not complete | 681 | $15,392 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $258.49/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 NUS Florida.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1893 | $19,046 |
| No Stafford loan | 42 | $30,620 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1699 | $19,896 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 236 | $16,895 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at NUS Florida.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for NUS Florida appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 9219 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $19,025 |
| Middle income | $16,750 |
| High income | $13,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,625 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,750 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for NUS Florida.
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
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.