by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Berry College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Berry, 43% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, for an average of $8,530 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,341, representing 97.1% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Berry, 39% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $6,187 per year. That is 15.8% more than the first-year federal average of $5,341.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,374 after two years and $24,748 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 39% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,187 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 865 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,351,672 |
The middle borrower at Berry owes $18,900 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,900 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Berry.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,775 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,750 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Berry.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Berry.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 199 | $24,786 |
| Completed (graduates) | 145 | $29,771 |
| Did not complete | 54 | $16,775 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $354.01/mo.
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 Berry.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 188 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 11 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Berry.
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 Berry appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 395 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,314 |
| Middle income | $16,937 |
| High income | $19,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,549 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,972 |
| Independent students | $12,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Berry.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Did You Know?
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.