by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Tougaloo College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Tougaloo, 49% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, for an average of $3,381 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $3,381, which is 61.5% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Across the full undergraduate body at Tougaloo (freshmen included), 63% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $1,664 per year. This works out to 50.8% lower than the $3,381 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $3,328 in two years and roughly $6,656 over a four-year span. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 63% |
| Average federal loan per year | $1,664 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 428 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $712,252 |
The median student at Tougaloo borrows $23,098 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $23,098 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $30,046 |
| Students who withdrew | $17,769 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Tougaloo.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $9,500 |
| 75th percentile | $38,231 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $50,250 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Tougaloo.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Tougaloo.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 120 | $11,459 |
| Completed (graduates) | 44 | $14,175 |
| Did not complete | 76 | $10,700 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $168.56/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Tougaloo.
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 Tougaloo appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 293 |
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 | $25,000 |
| Middle income | $21,486 |
| High income | $15,830 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $20,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $22,000 |
| Independent students | $26,250 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Tougaloo.
The Difference Between 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.
Worth Knowing
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.