by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Rose State College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At RSC specifically, 16% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, for an average of $5,262 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $5,262, equal to roughly 95.7% 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.
For undergraduates overall at RSC, 21% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, for a typical $6,169 in federal loans per year. This is 17.2% above the freshman federal average of $5,262.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,338 by year two and around $24,676 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 21% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,169 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 937 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,780,798 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at RSC carry a median federal debt of $5,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,453 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,070 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for RSC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,000 |
| 75th percentile | $8,137 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $15,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at RSC.
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 RSC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 323 | $13,427 |
| Completed (graduates) | 51 | $10,876 |
| Did not complete | 272 | $14,932 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $129.33/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at RSC.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 298 | $13,167 |
| No Stafford loan | 25 | $17,465 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 97 | $8,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 226 | $15,979 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. RSC.
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 RSC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 16.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1687 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,277 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $6,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at RSC.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
Important to Remember
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.