by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Ross Medical Education Center - Charleston, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Ross - Charleston, 78% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $7,754 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $6,437. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Ross - Charleston, 69% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $6,686 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 3.9% higher than the $6,437 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,372 after two years and $26,744 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 69% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,686 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 48 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $320,936 |
The middle borrower at Ross - Charleston owes $5,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,725 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Ross - Charleston.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,399 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $9,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Ross - Charleston.
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 Ross - Charleston.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 68 | $8,661 |
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 Ross - Charleston.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 58 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 10 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Ross - Charleston.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Ross - Charleston appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 870 |
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 | $8,019 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,645 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Ross - Charleston.
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.