by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend St Louis College of Health Careers-Fenton— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At SLCHC, 100% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $7,650 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $7,650. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at SLCHC, 76% take out federal student loans, with a mean of $8,480 in federal loans per year. That is 10.8% higher than the first-year federal average of $7,650.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $16,960 in two years and roughly $33,920 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 76% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,480 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 424 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,595,494 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at SLCHC carry a median federal debt of $9,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for SLCHC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,974 |
| 25th percentile | $5,452 |
| 75th percentile | $16,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $22,636 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at SLCHC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at SLCHC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 96 | $7,250 |
| Completed (graduates) | 57 | $8,500 |
| Did not complete | 39 | $5,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $101.07/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at SLCHC.
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 SLCHC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 411 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $9,752 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,818 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at SLCHC.
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.
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.