by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Geneva College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Geneva, 90% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $7,515 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,921, or about 89.5% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at Geneva, 86% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $5,897 each per year. It comes to 19.8% greater than the $4,921 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $11,794 in two years and roughly $23,588 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 86% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,897 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 894 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,271,539 |
The median student at Geneva borrows $18,907 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,907 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,198 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Geneva.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,000 |
| 25th percentile | $8,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Geneva.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Geneva.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 160 | $16,850 |
| Completed (graduates) | 94 | $25,183 |
| Did not complete | 66 | $10,897 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $299.45/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Geneva.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Geneva appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 643 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,500 |
| Middle income | $18,253 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,829 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,990 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,000 |
| Independent students | $17,285 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Geneva.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
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.