by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend CET, Salinas: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at CET, Salinas, 10% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $6,122 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $6,122. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at CET, Salinas, 9% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $6,684 per year. This works out to 9.2% above the $6,122 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $13,368 by year two and around $26,736 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 | 9% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,684 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 27 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $180,469 |
The median student at CET, Salinas 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 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at CET, Salinas.
| 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 spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at CET, Salinas.
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, Salinas.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 215 | $5,192 |
| Completed (graduates) | 177 | $5,308 |
| Did not complete | 38 | $3,677 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $63.12/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at CET, Salinas.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 200 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 15 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at CET, Salinas.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for CET, Salinas appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1992 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| 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 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| 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, Salinas.
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.
Did You Know?
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.