by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Southern Virginia University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at SVU, 55% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $9,634 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $6,969. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. 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 SVU (freshmen included), 57% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $8,457 a year. It comes to 21.4% higher than the first-year federal average of $6,969.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $16,914 in two years and roughly $33,828 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 57% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,457 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 553 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,676,454 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at SVU carry a median federal debt of $14,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,224 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,000 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for SVU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $4,750 |
| 75th percentile | $18,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,695 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at SVU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at SVU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 101 | $15,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 49 | $16,839 |
| Did not complete | 52 | $13,291 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $200.23/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at SVU.
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 SVU is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 284 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,750 |
| Middle income | $15,500 |
| High income | $12,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,981 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,607 |
| Independent students | $22,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for SVU.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.