by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College— 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.
At OCtech, 2% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $4,144 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $4,144, which is 75.3% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. 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 OCtech, 12% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $4,497 per year. It comes to 8.5% more than the freshman federal average of $4,144.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $8,994 after two years and $17,988 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 12% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,497 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 191 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $859,013 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at OCtech carry a median federal debt of $7,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,562 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,000 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 OCtech.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $10,129 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $17,265 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at OCtech.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for OCtech.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 196 | $12,126 |
| Completed (graduates) | 38 | $11,460 |
| Did not complete | 158 | $12,362 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $136.27/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at OCtech.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 51 | $6,700 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 145 | $14,400 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. OCtech.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for OCtech appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 706 |
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 | $7,274 |
| Middle income | $6,000 |
| High income | $7,096 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,750 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,500 |
| Independent students | $7,501 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for OCtech.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.