by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Cedar Crest College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Cedar Crest, 78% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $8,629 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,192, representing 94.4% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Cedar Crest, 73% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $6,784 in federal loans per year. This works out to 30.7% greater than the first-year federal average of $5,192.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,568 by year two and around $27,136 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 73% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,784 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 623 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,226,730 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Cedar Crest carry a median federal debt of $23,044 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $23,044 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $11,000 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Cedar Crest.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,750 |
| 25th percentile | $9,500 |
| 75th percentile | $31,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $39,584 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Cedar Crest.
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 Cedar Crest.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 262 | $20,892 |
| Completed (graduates) | 142 | $28,620 |
| Did not complete | 120 | $17,593 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $340.32/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Cedar Crest.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 233 | $21,300 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 29 | $19,948 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Cedar Crest.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Cedar Crest appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 599 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $22,748 |
| Middle income | $24,000 |
| High income | $22,375 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $20,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $22,375 |
| Independent students | $24,739 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Cedar Crest.
Subsidized vs. 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.