by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend East Texas A&M 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.
Among first-year students at Texas A&M Commerce, 59% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $5,582 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,346, representing 97.2% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Texas A&M Commerce, 36% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $7,243 in federal loans per year. It comes to 35.5% above the first-year federal average of $5,346.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $14,486 after two years and $28,972 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 36% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,243 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,930 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $21,220,614 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Texas A&M Commerce carry a median federal debt of $14,250 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,250 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Texas A&M Commerce.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,000 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,656 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Texas A&M Commerce.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Texas A&M Commerce.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1603 | $13,104 |
| Completed (graduates) | 763 | $15,265 |
| Did not complete | 840 | $11,688 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $181.52/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Texas A&M Commerce.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1562 | $13,147 |
| No Stafford loan | 41 | $8,760 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1335 | $13,472 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 268 | $12,171 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Texas A&M Commerce.
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 Texas A&M Commerce is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2122 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,500 |
| Middle income | $14,250 |
| High income | $13,750 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,874 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,500 |
| Independent students | $16,938 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Texas A&M Commerce.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
Worth Knowing
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.