by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Oklahoma Baptist University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at OBU, 45% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $7,126 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,221, equal to roughly 94.9% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Looking at all undergraduates at OBU, freshmen included, 25% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $6,875 each per year. This works out to 31.7% higher than the first-year federal average of $5,221.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $13,750 by year two and around $27,500 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 25% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,875 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 326 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,241,164 |
The middle borrower at OBU owes $15,363 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,363 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,801 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 OBU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,490 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at OBU.
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 OBU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 238 | $19,449 |
| Completed (graduates) | 134 | $23,049 |
| Did not complete | 104 | $14,649 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $274.08/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at OBU.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 227 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 11 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for OBU.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for OBU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 380 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,500 |
| Middle income | $18,500 |
| High income | $14,675 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $20,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at OBU.
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.
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.