by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Cambridge College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Cambridge College, 50% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $8,907 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $8,907. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit 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.
Counting every undergraduate at Cambridge College, 48% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $7,551 annually. This is 15.2% less than the freshman federal average of $8,907.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $15,102 by year two and around $30,204 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 48% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,551 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 282 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,129,470 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Cambridge College carry a median federal debt of $14,917 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,917 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,791 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Cambridge College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,166 |
| 25th percentile | $6,333 |
| 75th percentile | $24,300 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,625 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Cambridge College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Cambridge College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 336 | $14,591 |
| Completed (graduates) | 143 | $15,447 |
| Did not complete | 193 | $13,900 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $183.68/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Cambridge College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 188 | $12,807 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 148 | $17,969 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Cambridge College.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Cambridge College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1919 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,791 |
| Middle income | $12,112 |
| High income | $12,196 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,092 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,053 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,990 |
| Independent students | $15,833 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Cambridge College.
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?
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.