by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Grays Harbor College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at GHC, 9% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $6,260 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,299, amounting to 96.3% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at GHC, 7% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $6,435 a year. This is 21.4% larger than the freshman federal average of $5,299.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,870 by year two and around $25,740 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 7% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,435 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 72 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $463,317 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at GHC carry a median federal debt of $7,665 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,665 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,075 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,334 |
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 GHC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,996 |
| 25th percentile | $3,330 |
| 75th percentile | $11,204 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $17,850 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at GHC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at GHC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 36 | $8,767 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for GHC.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for GHC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 21.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 210 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $8,500 |
| Middle income | $7,712 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,744 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,398 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at GHC.
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.
Important to Remember
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.