by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for The University of the South, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Sewanee specifically, 43% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $5,705 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,166, amounting to 93.9% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Counting every undergraduate at Sewanee, 34% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $5,985 a year. That amounts to 15.9% more than the $5,166 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,970 in two years and roughly $23,940 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 34% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,985 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 542 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,244,012 |
The median student at Sewanee borrows $17,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,855 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,731 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Sewanee.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,966 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Sewanee.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Sewanee.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 146 | $42,756 |
| Completed (graduates) | 105 | $56,450 |
| Did not complete | 41 | $30,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $671.25/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 Sewanee.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 135 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 11 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 126 | $43,692 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 20 | $42,135 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Sewanee.
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 Sewanee appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 164 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $13,695 |
| Middle income | $17,500 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Sewanee.
The Difference Between 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.