by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend San Juan College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at SJC, 6% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $5,038 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $4,785, which is 87.0% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Looking at all undergraduates at SJC, freshmen included, 7% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $5,414 a year. This is 13.1% more than the $4,785 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $10,828 by year two and around $21,656 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 | 7% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,414 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 317 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,716,320 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at SJC carry a median federal debt of $6,253 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,253 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for SJC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,500 |
| 25th percentile | $2,500 |
| 75th percentile | $10,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $18,470 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at SJC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at SJC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 228 | $10,295 |
| Completed (graduates) | 39 | $13,438 |
| Did not complete | 189 | $10,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $159.79/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at SJC.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 50 | $9,871 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 178 | $10,607 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SJC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for SJC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 19.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 719 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,000 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,011 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,254 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,532 |
| Independent students | $7,634 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at SJC.
Subsidized and 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.
Did You Know?
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.