by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Elizabethtown College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Etown specifically, 73% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $10,750 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,384, amounting to 97.9% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Etown, 67% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $6,666 annually. That is 23.8% greater than the $5,384 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,332 over two years and about $26,664 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 | 67% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,666 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,209 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,059,025 |
The median student at Etown borrows $26,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $26,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Etown.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $10,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,673 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Etown.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Etown.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 246 | $35,924 |
| Completed (graduates) | 183 | $51,299 |
| Did not complete | 63 | $15,044 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $610.0/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Etown.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 234 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 12 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Etown.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Etown follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 602 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $23,370 |
| Middle income | $25,000 |
| High income | $26,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $26,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $26,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $26,000 |
| Independent students | $20,875 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Etown.
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.
Important to Remember
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.