by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Sacramento City College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at Sacramento City, 5% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $7,478 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $7,478. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. 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 Sacramento City, freshmen included, 5% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $7,374 per year. That is 1.4% less than the $7,478 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,748 in two years and roughly $29,496 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 | 5% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,374 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 841 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,201,765 |
The middle borrower at Sacramento City owes $9,256 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,256 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,000 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Sacramento City.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $14,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $26,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Sacramento City.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Sacramento City.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1879 | $13,764 |
| Completed (graduates) | 76 | $15,484 |
| Did not complete | 1803 | $13,575 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $184.12/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Sacramento City.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1784 | $13,802 |
| No Stafford loan | 95 | $13,322 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 63 | $9,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1816 | $14,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Sacramento City.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Sacramento City is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 14.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 968 |
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 | $9,492 |
| Middle income | $8,631 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,252 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,348 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Sacramento City.
Subsidized vs. 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.
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.