by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for San Diego Mesa College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at San Diego Mesa College, 3% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $3,489 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $3,489, which is 63.4% 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 San Diego Mesa College, freshmen included, 2% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $4,137 annually. This is 18.6% larger than the freshman federal average of $3,489.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $8,274 across two years and $16,548 by the fourth year. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 2% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,137 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 328 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,357,067 |
The median student at San Diego Mesa College borrows $4,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $4,725 |
| Students who withdrew | $3,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at San Diego Mesa College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,590 |
| 75th percentile | $5,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $9,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at San Diego Mesa 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 San Diego Mesa College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1264 | $18,106 |
| Completed (graduates) | 128 | $13,920 |
| Did not complete | 1136 | $18,846 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $165.52/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at San Diego Mesa College.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1185 | $18,081 |
| No Stafford loan | 79 | $18,450 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 40 | $13,200 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1224 | $18,475 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. San Diego Mesa College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for San Diego Mesa College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 518 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $4,500 |
| Middle income | $3,645 |
| High income | $3,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $4,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,500 |
| Independent students | $4,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for San Diego Mesa 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.
Important to Remember
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.