by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto College specifically, 2% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $5,211 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,211, or about 94.7% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 Palo Alto College, freshmen included, 3% take out federal student loans, for a typical $5,957 in federal loans per year. This works out to 14.3% above the $5,211 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $11,914 in two years and roughly $23,828 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 3% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,957 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 235 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,399,901 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Palo Alto College carry a median federal debt of $6,779 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,779 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $13,393 |
| 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Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Palo Alto College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,000 |
| 75th percentile | $10,950 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $21,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Palo Alto College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Palo Alto College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 208 | $9,788 |
| Completed (graduates) | 19 | $11,097 |
| Did not complete | 189 | $9,703 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $131.96/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Palo Alto College.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 26 | $7,084 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 182 | $10,012 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Palo Alto College.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Palo Alto College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 16.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 329 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,793 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,828 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,312 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Palo Alto College.
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.