by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Access Careers— 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 Access Careers specifically, 46% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $6,089 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $6,089. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for 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 Access Careers, freshmen included, 3% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $6,089 a year.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,178 by year two and around $24,356 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 3% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,089 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 22 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $133,949 |
The middle borrower at Access Careers owes $5,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $5,500 |
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Access Careers.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $5,176 |
| 75th percentile | $6,452 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Access Careers.
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 | $5,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $6,269 |
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.
Worth Knowing
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.