by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Troy University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at TROY, 84% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $4,169 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $3,174, or about 57.7% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the 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 TROY, 69% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, for a typical $4,569 per year. This is 44.0% greater than the $3,174 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $9,138 after two years and $18,276 over four years. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 69% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,569 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,957 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $31,787,074 |
The median student at TROY borrows $15,985 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,985 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $11,000 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for TROY.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,130 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $29,512 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $44,875 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at TROY.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for TROY.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1974 | $13,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 777 | $13,842 |
| Did not complete | 1197 | $12,600 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $164.6/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at TROY.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1945 | $13,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 29 | $11,710 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1600 | $12,986 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 374 | $13,044 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. TROY.
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 TROY follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 8418 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,000 |
| Middle income | $15,000 |
| High income | $15,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,488 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $17,756 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at TROY.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Did You Know?
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.