by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for San Joaquin Delta College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Delta, 1% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $5,757 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,757. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. 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 Delta, 1% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $6,560 annually. That amounts to 13.9% above the $5,757 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,120 in two years and roughly $26,240 after four. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 1% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,560 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 171 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,121,803 |
The median student at Delta borrows $7,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,000 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Delta.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,000 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,467 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Delta.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Delta.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1064 | $14,031 |
| Completed (graduates) | 43 | $13,500 |
| Did not complete | 1021 | $14,063 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $160.53/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Delta.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1009 | $14,112 |
| No Stafford loan | 55 | $13,103 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 35 | $7,500 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1029 | $14,500 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Delta.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Delta appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 21.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 640 |
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 |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,500 |
| Middle income | $6,497 |
| High income | $4,625 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,102 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,490 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Delta.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
Worth Knowing
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.