by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Ross College-Hopkinsville: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Ross College-Hopkinsville specifically, 70% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $8,090 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $7,157. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Ross College-Hopkinsville, 62% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $7,219 a year. That amounts to 0.9% more than the $7,157 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $14,438 by year two and around $28,876 over four years. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 62% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,219 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 72 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $519,742 |
The middle borrower at Ross College-Hopkinsville owes $7,719 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,719 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $3,969 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Ross College-Hopkinsville.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,596 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $9,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Ross College-Hopkinsville.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Ross College-Hopkinsville.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 125 | $6,961 |
| Completed (graduates) | 94 | $7,534 |
| Did not complete | 31 | $6,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $89.59/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 Ross College-Hopkinsville.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 95 | $7,834 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 30 | $4,424 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Ross College-Hopkinsville.
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 College-Hopkinsville appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1213 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,609 |
| Middle income | $7,000 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,221 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Ross College-Hopkinsville.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.