by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Gwinnett College-Sandy Springs: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Gwinnett College - Sandy Springs specifically, 50% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $7,366 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $7,366. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at Gwinnett College - Sandy Springs, freshmen included, 70% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $7,088 a year. That is 3.8% lower than the freshman federal average of $7,366.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $14,176 by year two and around $28,352 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 70% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,088 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 95 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $673,316 |
The median student at Gwinnett College - Sandy Springs borrows $7,639 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,639 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,175 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Gwinnett College - Sandy Springs.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,167 |
| 25th percentile | $5,616 |
| 75th percentile | $11,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $14,237 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Gwinnett College - Sandy Springs.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Gwinnett College - Sandy Springs.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Gwinnett College - Sandy Springs appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 18.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 128 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,315 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,042 |
| Independent students | $8,967 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Gwinnett College - Sandy Springs.
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.