by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Carthage College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Carthage, 96% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $7,527 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $4,292, or about 78.0% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the 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.
For undergraduates overall at Carthage, 87% take out federal student loans, for a typical $8,872 a year. That is 106.7% greater than the first-year federal average of $4,292.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $17,744 by year two and around $35,488 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 87% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,872 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,283 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $20,255,478 |
The median student at Carthage borrows $19,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,625 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Carthage.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $11,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,550 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Carthage.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Carthage.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 416 | $29,755 |
| Completed (graduates) | 265 | $42,940 |
| Did not complete | 151 | $20,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $510.6/mo.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Carthage.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Carthage follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 760 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,666 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $19,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $16,666 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Carthage.
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.