by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Marietta College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Marietta specifically, 74% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $10,306 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $7,563. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Looking at all undergraduates at Marietta, freshmen included, 72% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $9,453 in federal loans per year. That is 25.0% above the $7,563 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $18,906 after two years and $37,812 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 | 72% |
| Average federal loan per year | $9,453 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 745 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $7,042,306 |
The median student at Marietta borrows $12,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| 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 Marietta.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,541 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Marietta.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Marietta.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 149 | $16,885 |
| Completed (graduates) | 71 | $39,556 |
| Did not complete | 78 | $11,739 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $470.36/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Marietta.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Marietta appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 441 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,000 |
| Middle income | $12,000 |
| High income | $12,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $10,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Marietta.
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.
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.