by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Soka University of America: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Soka University, 78% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $8,198 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federally funded loan is $5,221, amounting to 94.9% 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.
For undergraduates overall at Soka University, 37% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $6,144 a year. That is 17.7% higher than the $5,221 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,288 across two years and $24,576 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 37% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,144 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 173 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,062,949 |
The median student at Soka University borrows $15,250 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $15,650 |
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Soka University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $9,250 |
| 75th percentile | $26,720 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,128 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Soka University.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Soka University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 24 | $13,228 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Soka 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 Soka University is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 50 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $18,904 |
| Middle income | $14,707 |
| High income | $14,707 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,518 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,859 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Soka University.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.