by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Hobart William Smith Colleges— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at The Colleges, 81% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, for an average of $5,415 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $3,753, equal to roughly 68.2% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year 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 The Colleges, 74% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $5,201 per year. This works out to 38.6% larger than the $3,753 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $10,402 in two years and roughly $20,804 across a four-year program. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 74% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,201 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,192 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,200,003 |
The median student at The Colleges borrows $24,250 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $24,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,302 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at The Colleges.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,750 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at The Colleges.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for The Colleges.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 198 | $45,342 |
| Completed (graduates) | 130 | $61,178 |
| Did not complete | 68 | $24,552 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $727.47/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at The Colleges.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for The Colleges follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 403 |
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 | $21,000 |
| Middle income | $23,500 |
| High income | $25,088 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $25,068 |
| Continuing-generation students | $23,623 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at The Colleges.
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.
Important to Remember
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.