by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Chester County Intermediate Unit, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Chester County Intermediate Unit, 100% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, for an average of $7,841 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $7,841. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at Chester County Intermediate Unit, 83% take out federal student loans, averaging $7,509 in federal loans per year. That is 4.2% smaller than the $7,841 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $15,018 over two years and about $30,036 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 83% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,509 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 95 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $713,329 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Chester County Intermediate Unit carry a median federal debt of $18,075 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,075 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,075 |
| 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 Chester County Intermediate Unit.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,000 |
| 25th percentile | $6,766 |
| 75th percentile | $18,075 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $18,075 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Chester County Intermediate Unit.
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Chester County Intermediate Unit.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Chester County Intermediate Unit follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 94 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,075 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $10,808 |
| Independent students | $18,075 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Chester County Intermediate Unit.
The Difference Between 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.
Did You Know?
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.