by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Santa Ana College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At SAC specifically, 1% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $8,550 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $8,550. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at SAC, 1% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $11,897 each per year. That amounts to 39.1% larger than the first-year federal average of $8,550.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $23,794 by year two and around $47,588 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 1% |
| Average federal loan per year | $11,897 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 166 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,974,949 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at SAC carry a median federal debt of $5,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $6,871 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at SAC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $2,625 |
| 75th percentile | $10,925 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,250 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SAC.
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 SAC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 949 | $13,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 168 | $13,855 |
| Did not complete | 781 | $13,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $164.75/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at SAC.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 912 | $13,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 37 | $17,349 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 12 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 937 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SAC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for SAC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 286 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $5,563 |
| Middle income | $6,394 |
| High income | $5,375 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,375 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,171 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,500 |
| Independent students | $7,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at SAC.
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.
Did You Know?
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.