by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for College of Coastal Georgia— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At CCGA specifically, 37% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $6,299 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $5,093, amounting to 92.6% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 CCGA, freshmen included, 32% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $6,108 annually. This is 19.9% above the freshman federal average of $5,093.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,216 across two years and $24,432 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 32% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,108 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 908 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,546,374 |
The median student at CCGA borrows $8,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $15,039 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,660 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for CCGA.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,800 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $14,830 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,750 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at CCGA.
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 CCGA.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 342 | $9,125 |
| Completed (graduates) | 84 | $11,189 |
| Did not complete | 258 | $8,939 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $133.05/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at CCGA.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 257 | $8,233 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 85 | $12,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. CCGA.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for CCGA follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 532 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,750 |
| Middle income | $8,750 |
| High income | $6,833 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,545 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at CCGA.
Subsidized vs. 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?
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.