by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Del Mar College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at DMC, 6% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $3,645 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $3,709, equal to roughly 67.4% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at DMC, 5% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $4,421 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 19.2% larger than the $3,709 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $8,842 in two years and roughly $17,684 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 | 5% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,421 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 433 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,914,182 |
The middle borrower at DMC owes $3,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $3,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $5,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $3,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 DMC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,364 |
| 25th percentile | $1,750 |
| 75th percentile | $5,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $8,750 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at DMC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at DMC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 512 | $10,912 |
| Completed (graduates) | 79 | $10,137 |
| Did not complete | 433 | $11,033 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $120.54/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at DMC.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 486 | $10,988 |
| No Stafford loan | 26 | $10,210 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 83 | $8,783 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 429 | $12,470 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at DMC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for DMC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 16.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1387 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $3,709 |
| Middle income | $3,500 |
| High income | $3,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $3,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $3,936 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,500 |
| Independent students | $4,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at DMC.
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?
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.