by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Century College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at Century College, 26% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $6,257 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $6,236. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at Century College, freshmen included, 24% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $7,225 each per year. It comes to 15.9% more than the $6,236 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $14,450 in two years and roughly $28,900 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 24% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,225 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,456 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $10,519,367 |
The middle borrower at Century College owes $9,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $14,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,200 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Century College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,250 |
| 25th percentile | $4,500 |
| 75th percentile | $18,417 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,781 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Century College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Century College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 543 | $12,094 |
| Completed (graduates) | 130 | $12,539 |
| Did not complete | 413 | $12,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $149.1/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Century College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 273 | $10,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 270 | $14,876 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Century 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 Century College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2998 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $10,074 |
| Middle income | $9,373 |
| High income | $8,250 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,250 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,663 |
| Independent students | $11,822 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Century College.
The Difference Between 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.