by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for George C Wallace State Community College-Hanceville— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Wallace State, Hanceville, 22% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $5,228 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,000, which is 90.9% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Looking at all undergraduates at Wallace State, Hanceville, freshmen included, 25% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $6,131 in federal loans per year. That is 22.6% greater than the first-year federal average of $5,000.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,262 across two years and $24,524 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 25% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,131 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,106 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,781,229 |
The median student at Wallace State, Hanceville borrows $8,200 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,200 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,628 |
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 Wallace State, Hanceville.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,047 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $14,010 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $21,690 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Wallace State, Hanceville.
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 Wallace State, Hanceville.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 217 | $13,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 58 | $11,317 |
| Did not complete | 159 | $14,422 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $134.57/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Wallace State, Hanceville.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 206 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 11 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 120 | $10,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 97 | $16,654 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Wallace State, Hanceville.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Wallace State, Hanceville is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 16.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1479 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,200 |
| Middle income | $8,000 |
| High income | $8,250 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,750 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Wallace State, Hanceville.
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
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.