by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend GateWay Community 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 GateWay Community College, 13% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $1,575 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $1,575, equal to roughly 28.6% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at GateWay Community College, 5% take out federal student loans, with a mean of $1,513 annually. This works out to 3.9% below the freshman federal average of $1,575.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $3,026 after two years and $6,052 over a four-year span. 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 | $1,513 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 43 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $65,050 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at GateWay Community College carry a median federal debt of $4,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $6,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $3,500 |
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 GateWay Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,250 |
| 75th percentile | $12,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $21,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at GateWay 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 GateWay Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 371 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 94 | $9,412 |
| Did not complete | 277 | $10,307 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $111.92/mo.
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 GateWay Community College.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 361 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 88 | $8,099 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 283 | $10,400 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at GateWay Community College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for GateWay Community College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1347 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $4,500 |
| Middle income | $4,500 |
| High income | $4,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,250 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,500 |
| Independent students | $4,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at GateWay Community College.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Worth Knowing
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.