by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Hampden-Sydney College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at Hampden - Sydney, 43% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $7,729 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,268, amounting to 95.8% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Counting every undergraduate at Hampden - Sydney, 47% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $6,276 a year. That is 19.1% above the first-year federal average of $5,268.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,552 across two years and $25,104 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 47% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,276 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 413 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,591,927 |
The middle borrower at Hampden - Sydney owes $19,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,000 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Hampden - Sydney.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,750 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Hampden - Sydney.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at Hampden - Sydney.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 152 | $45,191 |
| Completed (graduates) | 78 | $61,239 |
| Did not complete | 74 | $31,921 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $728.2/mo.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Hampden - Sydney.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Hampden - Sydney appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 198 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,238 |
| Middle income | $21,000 |
| High income | $19,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Hampden - Sydney.
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.
Did You Know?
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.