by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Blue Cliff College-Alexandria— 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.
Looking at the entering class at Blue Cliff College - Alexandria, 72% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $5,806 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,806. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Across the full undergraduate body at Blue Cliff College - Alexandria (freshmen included), 78% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $6,962 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 19.9% higher than the first-year federal average of $5,806.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,924 by year two and around $27,848 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 78% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,962 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 616 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,288,760 |
The middle borrower at Blue Cliff College - Alexandria owes $8,265 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,265 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Blue Cliff College - Alexandria.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,894 |
| 25th percentile | $4,750 |
| 75th percentile | $12,402 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,535 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Blue Cliff College - Alexandria.
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 Blue Cliff College - Alexandria.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 315 | $6,535 |
| Completed (graduates) | 194 | $7,205 |
| Did not complete | 121 | $5,140 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $85.68/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Blue Cliff College - Alexandria.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 290 | $6,517 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 25 | $7,500 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Blue Cliff College - Alexandria.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Blue Cliff College - Alexandria is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1680 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,265 |
| Middle income | $8,265 |
| High income | $6,365 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,265 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,265 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,334 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Blue Cliff College - Alexandria.
Subsidized and 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.
Worth Knowing
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.