by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Valdosta State University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at VSU, 43% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $5,812 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $5,369, equal to roughly 97.6% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at VSU (freshmen included), 46% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $6,565 each per year. This is 22.3% larger than the $5,369 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,130 after two years and $26,260 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 46% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,565 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,191 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $20,948,799 |
The median student at VSU borrows $13,750 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $13,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,779 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at VSU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,526 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,550 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at VSU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at VSU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2316 | $13,706 |
| Completed (graduates) | 943 | $19,136 |
| Did not complete | 1373 | $11,533 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $227.55/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at VSU.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2237 | $13,883 |
| No Stafford loan | 79 | $10,791 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2095 | $14,024 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 221 | $11,521 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for VSU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for VSU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3062 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,200 |
| Middle income | $13,750 |
| High income | $13,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,831 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,529 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,000 |
| Independent students | $17,774 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for VSU.
The Difference Between 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.
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.