by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Georgia Institute of Cosmetology— 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.
Looking at the entering class at GIC, 81% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, for an average of $5,500 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $5,500, or about 100.0% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at GIC, 88% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $4,523 annually. This works out to 17.8% smaller than the $5,500 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $9,046 by year two and around $18,092 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 88% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,523 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 294 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,329,882 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at GIC carry a median federal debt of $9,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,273 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at GIC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $15,697 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at GIC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for GIC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 43 | $10,958 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for GIC.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for GIC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 274 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $9,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,454 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at GIC.
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.
Did You Know?
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.