by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for CET, San Jose: 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.
At CET, San Jose specifically, 54% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $7,218 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $7,218. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at CET, San Jose, 40% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $7,561 annually. It comes to 4.8% more than the freshman federal average of $7,218.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $15,122 across two years and $30,244 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 40% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,561 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 134 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,013,162 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at CET, San Jose carry a median federal debt of $6,729 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,729 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,041 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 CET, San Jose.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,140 |
| 25th percentile | $4,767 |
| 75th percentile | $8,042 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $9,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at CET, San Jose.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at CET, San Jose.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 215 | $5,192 |
| Completed (graduates) | 177 | $5,308 |
| Did not complete | 38 | $3,677 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $63.12/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at CET, San Jose.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 200 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 15 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for CET, San Jose.
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 CET, San Jose follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1992 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $6,777 |
| Middle income | $6,650 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,729 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,246 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $7,582 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at CET, San Jose.
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.
Important to Remember
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.