by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for South Arkansas College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At SouthArk, 13% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $3,626 each, across private and federal loan sources.
On the federal side, the average loan is $3,626, which is 65.9% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at SouthArk, 23% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $4,884 annually. This works out to 34.7% above the $3,626 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $9,768 across two years and $19,536 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 | 23% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,884 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 203 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $991,524 |
The median student at SouthArk borrows $7,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,153 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at SouthArk.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,827 |
| 25th percentile | $3,467 |
| 75th percentile | $14,767 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,867 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SouthArk.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at SouthArk.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 67 | $5,660 |
| Completed (graduates) | 28 | $5,533 |
| Did not complete | 39 | $5,660 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $65.79/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at SouthArk.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 26 | $4,836 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 41 | $5,979 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for SouthArk.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for SouthArk is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 337 |
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 | $7,705 |
| Middle income | $6,718 |
| High income | $6,195 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,162 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,748 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $8,952 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at SouthArk.
Subsidized vs. 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.
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.