by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Centre College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Centre College of Kentucky, 56% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $6,393 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,436, or about 98.8% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Centre College of Kentucky, 49% take out federal student loans, at an average of $6,436 each per year. This works out to 18.4% greater than the $5,436 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,872 over two years and about $25,744 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 49% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,436 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 660 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,247,518 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Centre College of Kentucky carry a median federal debt of $25,125 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $25,125 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Centre College of Kentucky.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $14,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Centre College of Kentucky.
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 Centre College of Kentucky.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 93 | $50,378 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Centre College of Kentucky.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Centre College of Kentucky is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 196 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $22,059 |
| Middle income | $24,781 |
| High income | $25,991 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $25,725 |
| Continuing-generation students | $25,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Centre College of Kentucky.
Subsidized and 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.
Important to Remember
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.