by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Cypress College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Cypress College specifically, 0% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $5,620 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $5,620. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Cypress College, 2% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $7,233 each per year. That amounts to 28.7% larger than the $5,620 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $14,466 in two years and roughly $28,932 after four. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 2% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,233 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 195 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,410,391 |
The median student at Cypress College borrows $7,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,000 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Cypress College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,250 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $11,129 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $17,097 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Cypress College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Cypress College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 821 | $13,297 |
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at Cypress College.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 785 | $13,500 |
| No Stafford loan | 36 | $8,555 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 17 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 804 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Cypress College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Cypress College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 14.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 463 |
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 | $8,220 |
| Middle income | $8,500 |
| High income | $4,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,600 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,281 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,250 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Cypress College.
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.