by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Eckerd 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.
Looking at the entering class at Eckerd, 51% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $11,735 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,209, which is 94.7% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at Eckerd (freshmen included), 44% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $6,242 annually. That is 19.8% higher than the $5,209 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,484 across two years and $24,968 across a four-year program. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 44% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,242 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 867 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,411,410 |
The middle borrower at Eckerd owes $19,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,296 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Eckerd.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,692 |
| 25th percentile | $7,965 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Eckerd.
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 Eckerd.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 278 | $41,623 |
| Completed (graduates) | 174 | $52,772 |
| Did not complete | 104 | $30,705 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $627.52/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Eckerd.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Eckerd appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 644 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,000 |
| Middle income | $23,167 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $21,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $15,390 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Eckerd.
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.