by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Cuyamaca College: 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.
At Cuyamaca College specifically, 3% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $7,787 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $7,787. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Cuyamaca College, 3% rely on federal student loans toward their education, for a typical $7,656 a year. This is 1.7% under the $7,787 borrowed by freshmen.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $15,312 after two years and $30,624 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 3% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,656 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 191 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,462,241 |
The median student at Cuyamaca College borrows $5,136 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,136 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,250 |
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 Cuyamaca College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,000 |
| 75th percentile | $5,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $10,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Cuyamaca College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Cuyamaca College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 470 | $13,000 |
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Cuyamaca College.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 449 | $13,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 21 | $10,154 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Cuyamaca College.
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 Cuyamaca College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 116 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,250 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,657 |
| Independent students | $7,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Cuyamaca College.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
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.