by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Panola College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Panola College specifically, 10% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $4,121 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $4,121, representing 74.9% 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.
Counting every undergraduate at Panola College, 13% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $4,892 each per year. This is 18.7% above the first-year federal average of $4,121.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $9,784 across two years and $19,568 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 | 13% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,892 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 173 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $846,389 |
The median student at Panola College borrows $6,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,500 |
| 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 Panola College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $9,636 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,249 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Panola College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Panola College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 109 | $9,800 |
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Panola College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 45 | $7,700 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 64 | $12,777 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Panola College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Panola College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 97 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,842 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,909 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $8,250 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Panola College.
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.
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.