by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at SRU, 69% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $9,067 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $5,354, or about 97.3% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at SRU, 61% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $6,422 in federal loans per year. That is 19.9% more than the freshman federal average of $5,354.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,844 across two years and $25,688 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 | 61% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,422 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 4,115 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $26,424,672 |
The middle borrower at SRU owes $19,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,595 |
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 SRU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $8,250 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,783 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at SRU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at SRU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1520 | $19,833 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1013 | $23,528 |
| Did not complete | 507 | $15,875 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $279.77/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at SRU.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1510 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1380 | $20,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 140 | $15,959 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SRU.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for SRU follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2341 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $18,911 |
| Middle income | $20,230 |
| High income | $19,823 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,550 |
| Independent students | $17,943 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at SRU.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.