by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Cabrillo College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Cabrillo College, 1% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $6,583 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $6,583. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Counting every undergraduate at Cabrillo College, 2% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $7,753 annually. That amounts to 17.8% above the $6,583 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $15,506 across two years and $31,012 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 | 2% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,753 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 115 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $891,539 |
The median student at Cabrillo College borrows $9,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $14,380 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,000 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Cabrillo College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,209 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $15,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,261 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Cabrillo College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Cabrillo College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 520 | $15,902 |
| Completed (graduates) | 62 | $9,876 |
| Did not complete | 458 | $16,916 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $117.44/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 Cabrillo College.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 499 | $16,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 21 | $13,971 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 27 | $12,270 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 493 | $16,156 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Cabrillo College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Cabrillo College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 307 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,500 |
| Middle income | $7,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $10,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Cabrillo College.
Subsidized and 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.
Important to Remember
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.