by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Hartnell College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at Hartnell College, 0% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $5,000 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,000, representing 90.9% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
For undergraduates overall at Hartnell College, 0% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $6,361 annually. That amounts to 27.2% higher than the $5,000 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,722 over two years and about $25,444 over four years. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 0% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,361 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 29 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $184,467 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Hartnell College carry a median federal debt of $4,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,500 |
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Hartnell College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $1,750 |
| 75th percentile | $4,500 |
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Hartnell College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 265 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 19 | $5,161 |
| Did not complete | 246 | $10,640 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $61.37/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Hartnell College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Hartnell College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 28.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 70 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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.