by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Phoenix 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 Phoenix College, 8% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $3,975 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $3,588, equal to roughly 65.2% 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at Phoenix College, freshmen included, 11% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $4,151 annually. This works out to 15.7% more than the $3,588 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $8,302 over two years and about $16,604 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 11% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,151 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 785 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,258,875 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Phoenix College carry a median federal debt of $5,250 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $6,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Phoenix College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,245 |
| 75th percentile | $14,339 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $26,064 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Phoenix College.
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 Phoenix College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 688 | $10,610 |
| Completed (graduates) | 87 | $14,039 |
| Did not complete | 601 | $10,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $166.94/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 Phoenix College.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 123 | $8,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 565 | $11,882 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Phoenix College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Phoenix College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1401 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,250 |
| Middle income | $4,500 |
| High income | $5,250 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,118 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,250 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,500 |
| Independent students | $5,550 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Phoenix College.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Important to Remember
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.