by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Goucher College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Goucher, 51% of first-year students take on loan debt, at roughly $7,438 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,200, amounting to 94.5% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Across the full undergraduate body at Goucher (freshmen included), 54% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $6,495 annually. This works out to 24.9% greater than the $5,200 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,990 across two years and $25,980 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 54% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,495 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 507 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,292,967 |
The median student at Goucher borrows $17,882 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,882 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,000 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Goucher.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,829 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Goucher.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Goucher.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 481 | $25,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 180 | $39,769 |
| Did not complete | 301 | $18,641 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $472.9/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Goucher.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 221 | $35,246 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 260 | $18,871 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Goucher.
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 Goucher appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 397 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,500 |
| Middle income | $17,875 |
| High income | $17,764 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,727 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,425 |
| Independent students | $13,031 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Goucher.
Subsidized vs. 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
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.