by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Rhodes College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Rhodes College, 60% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $6,363 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,301, which is 96.4% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Rhodes College, 51% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $6,336 each per year. That is 19.5% greater than the $5,301 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,672 across two years and $25,344 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 | 51% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,336 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 965 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,114,452 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Rhodes College carry a median federal debt of $19,349 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,349 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,761 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Rhodes College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $10,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,050 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Rhodes College.
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 Rhodes College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 127 | $45,200 |
| Completed (graduates) | 94 | $52,509 |
| Did not complete | 33 | $21,996 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $624.39/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 Rhodes College.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 117 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 10 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Rhodes College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Rhodes College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 213 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,621 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,436 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Rhodes College.
Subsidized and 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.
Did You Know?
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.