by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Southwest University at El Paso, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Southwest University at El Paso, 93% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $8,777 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $8,777. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at Southwest University at El Paso, 76% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $11,550 annually. This works out to 31.6% larger than the freshman federal average of $8,777.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $23,100 by year two and around $46,200 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 76% |
| Average federal loan per year | $11,550 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,367 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $15,789,421 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Southwest University at El Paso carry a median federal debt of $14,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,204 |
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 Southwest University at El Paso.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,522 |
| 25th percentile | $6,583 |
| 75th percentile | $20,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,714 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Southwest University at El Paso.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Southwest University at El Paso.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 427 | $5,454 |
| Completed (graduates) | 293 | $7,060 |
| Did not complete | 134 | $3,532 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $83.95/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Southwest University at El Paso.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 406 | $5,555 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 21 | $4,733 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Southwest University at El Paso.
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 Southwest University at El Paso appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 707 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,022 |
| Middle income | $13,671 |
| High income | $13,667 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,875 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,750 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $16,030 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Southwest University at El Paso.
Subsidized vs. 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.
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.