by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of South Alabama: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at USA, 52% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $11,354 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $10,366. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Looking at all undergraduates at USA, freshmen included, 49% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $10,851 a year. It comes to 4.7% greater than the $10,366 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $21,702 across two years and $43,404 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 | 49% |
| Average federal loan per year | $10,851 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 4,218 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $45,768,366 |
The median student at USA borrows $17,750 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,929 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for USA.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,125 |
| 75th percentile | $27,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at USA.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at USA.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2610 | $21,172 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1542 | $26,683 |
| Did not complete | 1068 | $16,479 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $317.29/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at USA.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2527 | $21,585 |
| No Stafford loan | 83 | $15,444 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2403 | $21,966 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 207 | $15,175 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. USA.
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 USA is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3512 |
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 | $18,750 |
| Middle income | $17,508 |
| High income | $16,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,202 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,000 |
| Independent students | $20,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at USA.
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.
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.