by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for South University-Columbia— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At South University, Columbia, 84% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $8,909 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $8,909. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at South University, Columbia (freshmen included), 65% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $7,921 annually. It comes to 11.1% under the $8,909 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $15,842 by year two and around $31,684 over a four-year span. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 65% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,921 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 288 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,281,319 |
The median student at South University, Columbia borrows $13,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $13,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,123 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for South University, Columbia.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,501 |
| 25th percentile | $4,750 |
| 75th percentile | $22,542 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at South University, Columbia.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at South University, Columbia.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1565 | $9,598 |
| Completed (graduates) | 743 | $10,629 |
| Did not complete | 822 | $9,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $126.39/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at South University, Columbia.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1367 | $9,690 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 198 | $9,256 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at South University, Columbia.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for South University, Columbia appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 17.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 20558 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $12,643 |
| Middle income | $15,278 |
| High income | $14,700 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,883 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,576 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,668 |
| Independent students | $12,990 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for South University, Columbia.
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.
Important to Remember
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.