by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Savannah College of Art and Design, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at SCAD, 43% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, at roughly $14,749 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,160, which is 93.8% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Looking at all undergraduates at SCAD, freshmen included, 34% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,249 a year. This works out to 21.1% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,160.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,498 across two years and $24,996 by the fourth year. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 34% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,249 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 4,940 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $30,870,892 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at SCAD carry a median federal debt of $15,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,148 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at SCAD.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,334 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,166 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at SCAD.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at SCAD.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2541 | $66,267 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1406 | $99,784 |
| Did not complete | 1135 | $42,619 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $1186.54/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 SCAD.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2414 | $67,884 |
| No Stafford loan | 127 | $41,039 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2350 | $70,696 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 191 | $30,883 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SCAD.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for SCAD follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2207 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $15,000 |
| Middle income | $15,500 |
| High income | $15,537 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,666 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,166 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,167 |
| Independent students | $17,033 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at SCAD.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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
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.