by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Southeast Missouri State University: 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 Southeast Missouri State University specifically, 43% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $6,623 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $5,207, which is 94.7% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 Southeast Missouri State University, 40% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $6,378 a year. This works out to 22.5% above the $5,207 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,756 over two years and about $25,512 over four years. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 40% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,378 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,667 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $17,011,006 |
The median student at Southeast Missouri State University borrows $14,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
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 Southeast Missouri State University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,030 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,752 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,984 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Southeast Missouri State University.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Southeast Missouri State University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1227 | $13,550 |
| Completed (graduates) | 709 | $15,000 |
| Did not complete | 518 | $11,489 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $178.37/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 Southeast Missouri State University.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1208 | $13,550 |
| No Stafford loan | 19 | $14,137 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1104 | $13,530 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 123 | $14,137 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Southeast Missouri State University.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Southeast Missouri State University follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2223 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,998 |
| Middle income | $14,040 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,667 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,802 |
| Independent students | $14,125 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Southeast Missouri State University.
The Difference Between 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.
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.