by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Hamilton College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Hamilton specifically, 33% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $5,927 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $4,010, which is 72.9% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Hamilton, 29% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $4,396 annually. It comes to 9.6% more than the $4,010 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $8,792 after two years and $17,584 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 | 29% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,396 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 598 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,628,774 |
The median student at Hamilton borrows $15,015 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,015 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $17,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Hamilton.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,824 |
| 75th percentile | $20,863 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $26,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Hamilton.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Hamilton.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 107 | $45,578 |
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Hamilton.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 95 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 12 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 93 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 14 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Hamilton.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Hamilton follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 211 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,506 |
| Middle income | $14,250 |
| High income | $15,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,631 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Hamilton.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Did You Know?
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.