by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Gem City 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.
Among first-year students at Gem City College, 56% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $6,244 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federally funded loan is $6,244. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. 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 Gem City College (freshmen included), 57% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $6,577 a year. That is 5.3% higher than the freshman federal average of $6,244.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,154 after two years and $26,308 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 57% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,577 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 32 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $210,463 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Gem City College carry a median federal debt of $9,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,833 |
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Gem City College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $5,487 |
| 75th percentile | $10,805 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Gem City College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Gem City College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 33 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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.