by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Gordon State College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at Gordon, 54% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $5,374 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $5,127, which is 93.2% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Gordon, 43% take out federal student loans, at an average of $5,957 per year. It comes to 16.2% above the $5,127 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $11,914 in two years and roughly $23,828 over four years. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 43% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,957 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,117 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,654,507 |
The middle borrower at Gordon owes $8,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $17,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,960 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Gordon.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $4,750 |
| 75th percentile | $15,599 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,750 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Gordon.
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 Gordon.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 348 | $6,961 |
| Completed (graduates) | 105 | $8,300 |
| Did not complete | 243 | $5,783 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $98.7/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Gordon.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 307 | $6,024 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 41 | $10,613 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Gordon.
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 Gordon follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1440 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,250 |
| Middle income | $8,846 |
| High income | $8,776 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,561 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,941 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,250 |
| Independent students | $10,273 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Gordon.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
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.