by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend South Dakota State University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at South Dakota State, 57% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $7,940 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,147, or about 93.6% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at South Dakota State (freshmen included), 49% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $6,389 in federal loans per year. It comes to 24.1% more than the freshman federal average of $5,147.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,778 after two years and $25,556 across a four-year program. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 49% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,389 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 4,330 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $27,662,425 |
The median student at South Dakota State borrows $16,246 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,246 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at South Dakota State.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $5,750 |
| 75th percentile | $26,983 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at South Dakota State.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for South Dakota State.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 850 | $14,616 |
| Completed (graduates) | 385 | $18,000 |
| Did not complete | 465 | $12,851 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $214.04/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 South Dakota State.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 838 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 12 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 765 | $15,025 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 85 | $9,528 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at South Dakota State.
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 South Dakota State is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2959 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,500 |
| Middle income | $15,950 |
| High income | $17,360 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,531 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,282 |
| Independent students | $15,917 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for South Dakota State.
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.
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.