by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Southern Wesleyan University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at SWU, 51% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $6,402 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,223, representing 95.0% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 SWU (freshmen included), 90% take out federal student loans, for a typical $7,538 per year. That amounts to 44.3% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,223.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $15,076 over two years and about $30,152 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 90% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,538 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 694 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,231,510 |
The median student at SWU borrows $19,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,308 |
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 SWU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,900 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $39,668 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SWU.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for SWU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 214 | $14,888 |
| Completed (graduates) | 121 | $16,072 |
| Did not complete | 93 | $14,400 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $191.11/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 SWU.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 198 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 16 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SWU.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for SWU is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 878 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,475 |
| Middle income | $20,432 |
| High income | $16,589 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $25,468 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at SWU.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Important to Remember
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.