by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Garrett College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Garrett Community College, 52% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $5,138 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $4,690, equal to roughly 85.3% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at Garrett Community College, 52% take out federal student loans, at an average of $4,997 per year. This works out to 6.5% greater than the $4,690 freshmen take on.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $9,994 by year two and around $19,988 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 52% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,997 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 220 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,099,433 |
The middle borrower at Garrett Community College owes $6,560 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,560 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Garrett Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $4,375 |
| 75th percentile | $12,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Garrett Community College.
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 Garrett Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 63 | $7,733 |
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Garrett Community College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 47 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 16 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Garrett Community 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 Garrett Community College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 230 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,224 |
| Middle income | $6,120 |
| High income | $6,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,943 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,672 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Garrett Community College.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
Worth Knowing
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.