by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Radford University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Radford specifically, 56% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $6,571 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,045, equal to roughly 91.7% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Radford, 52% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $6,325 in federal loans per year. This works out to 25.4% larger than the freshman federal average of $5,045.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,650 across two years and $25,300 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 52% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,325 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,893 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $18,297,321 |
The median student at Radford borrows $17,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Radford.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,979 |
| 75th percentile | $26,296 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Radford.
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 Radford.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1783 | $18,576 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1033 | $22,158 |
| Did not complete | 750 | $15,149 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $263.48/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Radford.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1757 | $18,611 |
| No Stafford loan | 26 | $10,022 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1683 | $18,906 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 100 | $14,305 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Radford.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Radford appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1918 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,750 |
| Middle income | $17,500 |
| High income | $16,446 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,750 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,000 |
| Independent students | $20,889 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Radford.
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.
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.