by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Saint Edward’s University: 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.
At St. Edward’s University specifically, 51% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $8,139 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $5,222, amounting to 94.9% 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at St. Edward’s University (freshmen included), 48% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $6,239 per year. This is 19.5% more than the $5,222 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,478 across two years and $24,956 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 48% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,239 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,302 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,123,764 |
The middle borrower at St. Edward’s University owes $20,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $20,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,803 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,114 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 St. Edward’s University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $9,910 |
| 75th percentile | $27,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at St. Edward’s University.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for St. Edward’s University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 462 | $24,684 |
| Completed (graduates) | 300 | $28,135 |
| Did not complete | 162 | $21,359 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $334.56/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 St. Edward’s University.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 451 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 11 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 436 | $24,764 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 26 | $21,915 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. St. Edward’s University.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for St. Edward’s University appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1252 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $21,835 |
| Middle income | $21,500 |
| High income | $18,062 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $21,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $25,968 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for St. Edward’s University.
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.