by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Gateway Technical College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Gateway Technical College, 26% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, at roughly $3,243 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $3,247, equal to roughly 59.0% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at Gateway Technical College, 22% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $3,309 annually. This works out to 1.9% larger than the freshman federal average of $3,247.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $6,618 across two years and $13,236 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 22% |
| Average federal loan per year | $3,309 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,037 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,431,509 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Gateway Technical College carry a median federal debt of $8,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,165 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Gateway Technical College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,916 |
| 75th percentile | $11,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $22,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Gateway Technical 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 Technical College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 354 | $8,591 |
| Completed (graduates) | 116 | $8,193 |
| Did not complete | 238 | $9,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $97.42/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 Technical College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 159 | $8,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 195 | $10,400 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Gateway Technical College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Gateway Technical College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 18.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1628 |
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 | $9,000 |
| Middle income | $7,000 |
| High income | $6,250 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,227 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,750 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,750 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Gateway Technical College.
The Difference Between 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.
Worth Knowing
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.