by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville— 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 SIUE specifically, 43% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $7,101 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $4,872, amounting to 88.6% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at SIUE, 39% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,262 a year. That amounts to 28.5% greater than the first-year federal average of $4,872.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,524 by year two and around $25,048 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 39% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,262 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,443 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $21,558,551 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at SIUE carry a median federal debt of $15,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,250 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for SIUE.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $5,656 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,850 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at SIUE.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for SIUE.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2280 | $17,251 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1393 | $21,500 |
| Did not complete | 887 | $13,503 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $255.66/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at SIUE.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2212 | $17,444 |
| No Stafford loan | 68 | $14,929 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2003 | $17,521 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 277 | $15,331 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SIUE.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for SIUE follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3103 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $17,048 |
| Middle income | $15,000 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,077 |
| Independent students | $17,228 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for SIUE.
Subsidized vs. 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.