by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend CET, El Paso— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at CET, El Paso, 75% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $7,337 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $7,337. 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 CET, El Paso, freshmen included, 63% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $7,229 in federal loans per year. This works out to 1.5% less than the $7,337 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $14,458 after two years and $28,916 across a four-year program. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 63% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,229 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 81 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $585,589 |
The median student at CET, El Paso borrows $6,729 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,729 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,041 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for CET, El Paso.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,140 |
| 25th percentile | $4,767 |
| 75th percentile | $8,042 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $9,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at CET, El Paso.
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 CET, El Paso.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 215 | $5,192 |
| Completed (graduates) | 177 | $5,308 |
| Did not complete | 38 | $3,677 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $63.12/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at CET, El Paso.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 200 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 15 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. CET, El Paso.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for CET, El Paso follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1992 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,777 |
| Middle income | $6,650 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,729 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,246 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $7,582 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at CET, El Paso.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.