by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Santa Fe Community College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At SFCC specifically, 2% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $6,763 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $6,763. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at SFCC (freshmen included), 2% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $7,221 a year. That amounts to 6.8% larger than the $6,763 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $14,442 after two years and $28,884 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 2% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,221 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 41 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $296,045 |
The middle borrower at SFCC owes $9,604 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,604 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $13,236 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 SFCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $4,189 |
| 75th percentile | $19,813 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,615 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SFCC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at SFCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 142 | $11,188 |
| Completed (graduates) | 21 | $10,000 |
| Did not complete | 121 | $12,260 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $118.91/mo.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SFCC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for SFCC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 16.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 394 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,250 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $11,261 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for SFCC.
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.
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.