by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria specifically, 93% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $8,440 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $7,670. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria (freshmen included), 72% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $6,999 a year. This works out to 8.7% smaller than the $7,670 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,998 over two years and about $27,996 over a four-year span. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 72% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,999 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 161 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,126,847 |
The median student at San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria borrows $9,773 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,773 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,674 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
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 San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,920 |
| 25th percentile | $9,474 |
| 75th percentile | $19,977 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1813 | $6,811 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1324 | $7,571 |
| Did not complete | 489 | $4,639 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $90.03/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1750 | $6,991 |
| No Stafford loan | 63 | $2,635 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1668 | $6,981 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 145 | $4,589 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria.
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 San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 18.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4952 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,118 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $9,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,699 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,574 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,667 |
| Independent students | $10,550 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria.
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
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.