by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Saint Cloud State University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at St. Cloud State University, 40% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $8,383 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,497, equal to roughly 99.9% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at St. Cloud State University, 38% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,762 a year. This works out to 23.0% higher than the first-year federal average of $5,497.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,524 across two years and $27,048 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 38% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,762 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,980 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $13,388,197 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at St. Cloud State University carry a median federal debt of $14,362 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,362 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,058 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
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 St. Cloud State University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,250 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,162 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at St. Cloud State University.
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 St. Cloud State University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 630 | $11,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 306 | $11,598 |
| Did not complete | 324 | $10,710 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $137.91/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at St. Cloud State University.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 535 | $10,997 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 95 | $13,402 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for St. Cloud State University.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for St. Cloud State University is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3949 |
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 | $14,317 |
| Middle income | $13,250 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,000 |
| Independent students | $16,611 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at St. Cloud State University.
Subsidized vs. 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
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.