by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Rogers State University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At RSU specifically, 28% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, at roughly $9,140 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $8,934. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at RSU, 44% take out federal student loans, for a typical $7,543 a year. This works out to 15.6% lower than the freshman federal average of $8,934.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $15,086 by year two and around $30,172 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 | 44% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,543 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,132 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,538,706 |
The middle borrower at RSU owes $11,250 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for RSU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,250 |
| 25th percentile | $3,944 |
| 75th percentile | $17,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,601 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at RSU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at RSU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 249 | $11,249 |
| Completed (graduates) | 62 | $13,245 |
| Did not complete | 187 | $10,808 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $157.5/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at RSU.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 196 | $11,812 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 53 | $8,900 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at RSU.
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 RSU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1059 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,750 |
| Middle income | $12,000 |
| High income | $11,250 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,000 |
| Independent students | $14,250 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at RSU.
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
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.