by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Penrose Academy— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Penrose Academy specifically, 51% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $6,828 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,590. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Looking at all undergraduates at Penrose Academy, freshmen included, 36% rely on federal student loans toward their education, for a typical $5,326 annually. That is 4.7% smaller than the $5,590 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $10,652 after two years and $21,304 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 36% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,326 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 258 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,374,056 |
The median student at Penrose Academy borrows $6,333 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,333 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $6,333 |
| Students who withdrew | $3,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Penrose Academy.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,666 |
| 25th percentile | $5,433 |
| 75th percentile | $10,556 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $14,624 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Penrose Academy.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Penrose Academy.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 76 | $10,411 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Penrose Academy.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Penrose Academy is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,333 |
| Middle income | $6,333 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,333 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,333 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,666 |
| Independent students | $6,333 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Penrose Academy.
Subsidized vs. 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.
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.