by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of South Carolina-Salkehatchie, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At USC Salkehatchie, 28% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $4,976 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,664, which is 84.8% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year 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 USC Salkehatchie, 35% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $5,238 annually. This works out to 12.3% greater than the $4,664 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $10,476 across two years and $20,952 by the fourth year. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 35% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,238 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 101 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $528,992 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at USC Salkehatchie carry a median federal debt of $6,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 USC Salkehatchie.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,408 |
| 25th percentile | $3,517 |
| 75th percentile | $11,919 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,750 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at USC Salkehatchie.
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 USC Salkehatchie.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 49 | $7,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. USC Salkehatchie.
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 USC Salkehatchie is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 16.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 405 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $7,882 |
| Middle income | $5,696 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $13,038 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for USC Salkehatchie.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
Important to Remember
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.