by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Southern New Hampshire University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at SNHU, 64% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $6,018 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,291, amounting to 96.2% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at SNHU, 59% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $7,181 a year. It comes to 35.7% above the $5,291 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $14,362 in two years and roughly $28,724 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 | 59% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,181 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 92,926 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $667,316,967 |
The median student at SNHU borrows $9,169 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,169 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,082 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,332 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for SNHU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,583 |
| 25th percentile | $3,166 |
| 75th percentile | $13,850 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $23,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at SNHU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at SNHU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 15430 | $12,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 5749 | $13,047 |
| Did not complete | 9681 | $11,518 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $155.14/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at SNHU.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 15331 | $12,019 |
| No Stafford loan | 99 | $10,000 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 10992 | $11,722 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 4438 | $13,337 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SNHU.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for SNHU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2157 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,836 |
| Middle income | $9,999 |
| High income | $11,083 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,920 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,501 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,500 |
| Independent students | $9,499 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for SNHU.
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.
Did You Know?
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.