by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Jefferson College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At JeffCo specifically, 10% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $5,121 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $4,678, amounting to 85.1% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at JeffCo, 12% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $5,023 each per year. This is 7.4% greater than the $4,678 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $10,046 over two years and about $20,092 by the fourth year. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 12% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,023 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 296 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,486,674 |
The middle borrower at JeffCo owes $6,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,285 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for JeffCo.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,500 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $13,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $22,840 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at JeffCo.
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 JeffCo.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 240 | $11,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 43 | $11,773 |
| Did not complete | 197 | $11,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $139.99/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at JeffCo.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 227 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 13 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 73 | $8,500 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 167 | $12,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for JeffCo.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for JeffCo is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 16.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 825 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,770 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,212 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,124 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,000 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at JeffCo.
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.
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.