by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend San Francisco Conservatory of Music— 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.
Looking at the entering class at SFCM, 69% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $6,257 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $3,642, equal to roughly 66.2% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at SFCM, 39% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $6,309 a year. That is 73.2% higher than the $3,642 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,618 across two years and $25,236 by the fourth year. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 39% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,309 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 85 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $536,292 |
The middle borrower at SFCM owes $22,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $22,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,000 |
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 SFCM.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $15,000 |
| 75th percentile | $31,500 |
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for SFCM.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 63 | $49,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 44 | $62,612 |
| Did not complete | 19 | $34,250 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $744.52/mo.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SFCM.
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 SFCM is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 0.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 127 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $26,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $20,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at SFCM.
Subsidized vs. 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.