by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Gulf Coast State 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 GCSC, 6% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, for an average of $6,853 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $6,254. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at GCSC (freshmen included), 10% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $6,225 a year. This is 0.5% less than the $6,254 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,450 over two years and about $24,900 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 10% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,225 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 347 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,159,930 |
The middle borrower at GCSC owes $5,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,147 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,898 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for GCSC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,398 |
| 25th percentile | $2,500 |
| 75th percentile | $10,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,810 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at GCSC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for GCSC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 129 | $10,500 |
| Completed (graduates) | 52 | $9,475 |
| Did not complete | 77 | $12,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $112.67/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at GCSC.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 37 | $9,483 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 92 | $10,881 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for GCSC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for GCSC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 681 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,040 |
| Middle income | $5,286 |
| High income | $5,400 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,600 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,444 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,135 |
| Independent students | $7,225 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for GCSC.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
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.