by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at OSU-OKC, 26% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $5,668 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $5,689. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at OSU-OKC (freshmen included), 24% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $6,112 in federal loans per year. It comes to 7.4% larger than the $5,689 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,224 by year two and around $24,448 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 24% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,112 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 807 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,932,694 |
The median student at OSU-OKC borrows $8,989 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,989 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $14,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,162 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 OSU-OKC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $15,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,166 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at OSU-OKC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at OSU-OKC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 377 | $12,040 |
| Completed (graduates) | 76 | $13,128 |
| Did not complete | 301 | $11,892 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $156.11/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at OSU-OKC.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 364 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 13 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 146 | $8,841 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 231 | $13,800 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at OSU-OKC.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for OSU-OKC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1606 |
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 | $9,194 |
| Middle income | $8,802 |
| High income | $9,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,331 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,554 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,523 |
| Independent students | $10,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at OSU-OKC.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Important to Remember
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.