by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at UAFS, 30% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $5,355 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,912, representing 89.3% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Counting every undergraduate at UAFS, 34% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,295 in federal loans per year. This is 28.2% larger than the first-year federal average of $4,912.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,590 across two years and $25,180 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 34% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,295 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,401 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,818,962 |
The middle borrower at UAFS owes $10,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $10,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,484 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 UAFS.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,993 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $16,078 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,332 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UAFS.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at UAFS.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 220 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 78 | $12,415 |
| Did not complete | 142 | $8,627 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $147.63/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at UAFS.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 177 | $9,776 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 43 | $10,400 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UAFS.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for UAFS is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 19.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1642 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,965 |
| Middle income | $10,250 |
| High income | $11,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $10,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,813 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,000 |
| Independent students | $15,750 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for UAFS.
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
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.